Box Score DANBURY, Conn. -- Junior Eric Caldwell's (East Moriches, N.Y.) goal with 46 seconds remaining proved to be the game-winner and lifted Western Connecticut to an 11-10 Little East Conference men's lacrosse victory over UMass Dartmouth Wednesday evening at the Westside Athletic Complex.
A match that featured seven ties and eight lead-changes saw the host Colonials (10-5, 5-1 LEC) overcome a 3-1 first quarter deficit with four unanswered tallies, including three man-up markers in a 43 second span, to take a 5-3 advantage with 8:27 remaining in the first half. Sophomore Tim Jordan (Sandwich, Mass.) evened matters for the visiting Corsairs (5-8, 2-3 LEC) with a pair of goals in 46 seconds, but senior Robby Swensen's (Danbury, Conn.) 42 seconds later staked Western Connecticut to a 6-5 edge at the break.
The two teams traded scores in the opening 10-plus minutes after intermission, but UMass Dartmouth received markers off the sticks of Jordan and freshman Alexi Fauzey (Charlestown, R.I.) to close out the third quarter that gave the visitors an 8-7 cushion heading into the final frame. The Colonials responded with three goals to open the fourth stanza and take a 10-8 lead on sophomore Zak Santoemma's (Madison, Conn.) man-up marker with 3:32 to play in the match, and the Corsairs forged the seventh and final tie of the evening on tallies from Jordan and sophomore Josh Souza (Sandwich, Mass.) in just 37 seconds, the latter which evened matters at 10 and set up Caldwell's heroics. The visitors forced a turnover in the closing seconds but were unable to force overtime, as a shot sailed wide with 20 seconds to play and enabled the hosts to run out the clock.
Caldwell and Swensen each finished with a hat trick and an assist in the triumph for Western Connecticut, which received two tallies and a helper from freshman Donald Schaumloffel (Wantagh, N.Y.) along with a marker and helper off the stick of junior Ryan Reuling (Groton, Conn.). Jordan netted a game-high five goals and an assist to finish with six points in the setback for UMass Dartmouth, which received a tally and two helpers from junior Donovan Prozinski (Ashland, Mass.). Fauzey and freshman Kevin Swenson (Ipswich, Mass.) each collected a goal and an assist for the visitors, who also received a marker off the stick of sophomore Sawyer Gibbons (Sandwich, Mass.).
Sophomore Perry Cassidy (East Setauket, N.Y.) picked up the win in goal with a 20-save effort for the Colonials, while junior Ted McCaffery (Pepperell, Mass.) made 12 stops in the setback for the Corsairs. UMass Dartmouth outshot Western Connecticut by a 43-38 margin overall (30-23 on goal), but the Colonials held a 20-4 advantage in the face-off circle and converted five man-up goals for the contest.
UMass Dartmouth heads to Salem, Mass. on Saturday afternoon to take on Salem State in a Little East Conference outing beginning at Noon, while Western Connecticut travels to Keene, N.H. on Saturday afternoon for a Little East clash with Keene State that begins at 3:00 pm.
