BOSTON, Mass. – With the reemergence of senior attackman Calvin Lee (Hopkinton, Mass.) lacrosse earned a huge Little East Conference win Saturday afternoon as they defeated Western Connecticut State University by the final of 11-8 at James Cotter Field.

THE BASICS

UMass Boston 11, Western Connecticut State University 8

UMass Boston (4-4, 1-0 Little East Conference)
Western Connecticut State (3-4, 0-1 Little East Conference)

HOW IT HAPPENED

After being sidelined for the entire month of March, Lee returned to the Beacons line-up like a man possessed.  In perhaps one of his most physical displays since coming to the harbor campus, Lee dominated the Beacons offensive third as he registered four goals and one assist.  He would go on to record the Beacons then tying goal late in the third quarter, before scoring the go-head tally with just 40 seconds left in the third frame.

The game-winner in Saturday's contest belonged to Sam Matton (Sturbridge, Mass.), who made it an 8-7 contest with 9:52 remaining in the fourth.  Clay Arnold (Syracuse, N.Y.) then gave UMB some breathing room 44 seconds later on a beautiful unassisted tally.  Lee Would cap-off a Beacons 3-0 run with 5:55 to go, with Jack Dillon (Barrington, R.I.) assisting on the play.

After a Ryan Reuling goal cut the deficit to two (10-8), the Beacons would control the next five minutes, and with less than a minute to play would seal the win thanks to a Josh Holmes (Weymouth, Mass.) score.

Matton, also had a huge day for the Beacons as he posted a career-best three points to go along with his first-ever multi-goal showing. 

Defensively, the Beacons played their most complete game of the year, with Dillon leading the charge.  The Rhode Island native totaled nine ground balls and finished with two caused turnovers in the win.  Alex Surette (Melrose, Mass.) had another huge performance with his eight saves.

Face-off man Matt Murphy (Watertown, Mass.) collected 19 wins on the "X" and also had seven ground balls and two caused turnovers. 

Eric Caldwell, led the Colonials attack with four goals, while Ryan Reuling posted a goal and three assists in the conference loss.  Patrick Tynan made 12 saves as he fell to 3-4 on the year. 

BY THE NUMBERS

• UMass Boston led the contest in total shots 37-27 and in ground balls 40-23
• The Beacons were 15-for-20 on clear attempts
• Saturday's win marked the first home win for the Beacons over the Colonials since 2006
• The Beacons have now won two straight over WCSU for the first time since the 2005-06 seasons
• Saturday's win also marked the first conference opening home win for the Beacons since the 2006 season, when they defeated UMass Dartmouth 7-3
• The win was also the first conference opening victory for the Beacons since 2014 when they defeated Salem State University, 11-8

WHO'S NEXT

 The Beacons will travel to Wheaton College (MA) on Tuesday for a 7 p.m. non-conference game.