Box Score PLYMOUTH, N.H. – An early fourth quarter goal by Matthew Duggan (Weymouth, Mass.) would be the deciding tally as lacrosse held on to earn their first Little East Conference win of 2016 and their win since 2007 over Plymouth State University as they defeated the Panthers by the final of 5-4 Sunday afternoon at the Holderness School.
THE BASICS
UMass Boston 5, Plymouth State University 4
UMass Boston (9-3, 1-1 Little East Conference)
Plymouth State University (2-6, 1-1 Little East Conference)
HOW IT HAPPENED
Duggan's game-winner came at the 12:39 mark of the final quarter, and at the time gave the Beacons a 5-2 lead. The Panthers would cut the deficit down to one as they recorded a pair of goals over the final 11 minutes of play, but senior goalie Craig Frehill (Norwell, Mass.) held strong to secure the win for the Beacons.
Both team's found the back of the net once in the first quarter, with Conor Smith (Kingston, Mass.) scoring the Beacons first goal of the afternoon. Michael Kennedy (Hudson, Mass.) would then score back-to-back man-up goals to give UMass a 3-1 lead going into the halftime break.
In the third Adam Haversat made it a one goal game just 3:01 into the third. The score would remain that way, until Calvin Lee (Hopkinton, Mass.) was able to make it a two-score game with 11 seconds left in the third frame. Lee's goal was an unassisted tally, and marked the 36th of the year for the senior attackman.
The early goal by Duggan proved to be the final marker for UMass, but it held strong for the remainder of the quarter, as the Beacons notched the huge conference win over their longtime rivals.
On the day Frehill anchored the Beacons defense with his 11 saves, while Jack Dillon (Barrington, R.I.) had the best game of his college career. The defenseman posted an impressive eight caused turnovers, and collected 10 ground balls in the conference win.
Phil Truong (Quincy, Mass.) collected eight face-off wins, as he went 8-for-12.
The Beacons held a 35-22 advantage in ground balls, and were 9-for-22 on clear attempts.
BY THE NUMBERS
- Both teams recorded 19 turnovers, with the Beacons leading the contest with 12 caused turnovers
- All-time UMass is 16-22 against Plymouth State
- The Beacons nine wins on the year now stands as fourth most in program history and the highest win total since 2006
WHO'S NEXT
The Beacons will travel to Western Connecticut State University on Saturday for a 7 p.m. conference game.
