BOSTON, Mass. – Led by Michael Kennedy's (Hudson, Mass.) career-high six goals lacrosse earned a huge conference win as they defeated the University of Southern Maine by the final of 14-11 Tuesday afternoon at Boston College High School.

With the win, the Beacons end a long six-game skid as they improved to 5-9 on the year, 1-5 in the conference.  The Huskies dropped to 6-6 overall, and 1-5 in conference play.  The Beacons now need Salem State University to pick-up a win over UMass Dartmouth this evening.  That along with a Beacons win over the Corsairs on Friday, will earn UMass Boston a spot in the conference tournament for the third straight year.

Kennedy's career-day capped off a senior celebration as the Beacons honored their eight members prior to the start of the contest.  This year's senior class consisted of Donny Delpha (Walpole, Mass.), Ryan McGoff (Charlestown, Mass.), Dom Fichera (Scituate, Mass.), Xavier Donaldson (Centerville, Mass.), Joe Johnson (Roxbury, Mass.), Tim Milch (Marshfield, Mass.), John Powers (Marshfield, Mass.), and Daniel Watson (Chapel Hill, N.C.).

Junior Noah Ellis (Hingham, Mass.) also had a big day for the Beacons as he finished with four goals and an assist.

Craig Frehill (Norwell, Mass.) earned the win after three saves in the first 30 minutes of play.  AJ Collette (West Springfield, Mass.) closed out the win, making just one stop in the final two frames.  The only time the Beacons did not lead Tuesday's contest was early in the third quarter, when the Huskies scored three straight to take an 8-7 lead. 

UMass would counter with a three-goal run of their own to take a 10-8 lead, and they never looked back from there.  Kennedy started the scoring off in the first quarter, and added one more before the intermission.  He would then score his final three goals over the final 15:39 of the contest to help the Beacons cap-off the victory over their conference rival.

Going into the halftime break, the Beacons held a 7-5 advantage on the scoreboard, having score the first three goals of the afternoon.  The two teams would battle back-and-forth throughout the second frame to keep it a two-goal affair heading into the break.  After the quick runs by both squads in the third, the Beacons gained some breathing room thanks to an early goal by Kennedy, and a goal by Fichera midway through the quarter.  Kennedy then sealed the win with 4:04 left in the contest on his second man-up goal.

Austin Watts matched the game-high in goals with six, while Keegan Smith finished with a game-high four assists, and also had one goal for the Huskies.  Zach Bessette was handed the loss after making six stops in the first two quarters.

The Beacons held a 36-30 advantage in shots and were +12 on ground balls (34-22).  They also forced a combined 24 Southern Maine turnovers, and were an impressive 16-for-22 on clear attempts.  Both teams managed two special team goals, but it was the Beacons who dominated play on the face-off "X".  Phil Truong (Quincy, Mass.) continued his strong play as he won 16 face-offs, while the Huskies Ryan Saul and Jaymz McStowe combined for nine wins respectively.

Lacrosse returns to action on Friday when they travel to UMass Dartmouth for a 7 p.m. conference game.