NASHUA, N.H. – A Calvin Lee (Hopkinton, Mass.) goal with 1:26 left in the fifth overtime pushed lacrosse to a 12-11 season opening victory over Rivier University in the longest game ever played in program history Saturday afternoon at Raider Field.

THE BASICS

UMass Boston 12, Rivier University 11 (5OT)

UMass Boston (1-0)
Rivier University (0-1)

HOW IT HAPPENED

Setting up the game-winning tally was Anthony Tortora (Medford, Mass.) who caused a turnover at midfield.  He then found Lee deep in the Beacons offensive third as he transitioned up the field.  Lee, was able to get around his man and fired home a high far corner shot. 

On the day Lee combined for three goals and three assists in his Beacons debut.  Sophomore returner Matthew Duggan (Weymouth, Mass.) also had a huge day for the Beacons as she connected on four goals, while also picking up one assist in the huge victory.  The Beacons dominated offensively with their combined 56 shots, while Rivier totaled 42. 

UMB's defense also played a very strong debut as Jack Dillon (Barrington, R.I.), Brendan Lovely (Foxborough, Mass.), Jim Ganem (Medfield, Mass.), and Michael Durocher (Marion, Mass.) forced key turnovers throughout the late periods, giving the Beacons the window they needed to take the victory. 

The Beacons forced the overtime frames after scoring back-to-back goals in the last 3:38 of the fourth, and outscored the Raiders 4-1 over the final 18:06. 

Rivier actually opened up the season opener with an early 3-0 lead and took a 4-1 lead early in the second quarter.  However the Beacons, led by Duggan responded with a run of their own to tie the game at 4-4, but a Rivier goal with 1:51 left in the second gave the Raiders a 5-4 lead going into the break.

After the intermission, Rivier dominated most of the third quarter, but with back-to-back goals to close out the frame by Lee and Conor Smith (Kingston, Mass.), the Beacons trailed by just one (10-9).  Rivier made it a two-goal game at 9:54 of the fourth, but the Beacons would even the score at 11-11 with goals from Duggan and Zac Medeiros (East Freetown, Mass.). 

Between the pipes Craig Frehill (Norwell, Mass.) registered 10 saves in the victory, while Rivier's Clark Plummer finished with an impressive 18 stops.

BY THE NUMBERS

• Saturday's contest marked the first-ever meeting between UMass and Rivier
• The Raiders finished 22-for-30 on face-offs, while UMass went 8-for-30
• The Beacons were 27-for-32 on clear attempts and were 0-for-7 on man-up opportunities. 

WHO'S NEXT

The Beacons return to action on Tuesday when they travel to Wentworth Institute of Technology for a 5 p.m. game.