HENNIKER, N.H. – Led by freshman Conor Lenfest's (Waltham, Mass.) game-high four goals and two assists lacrosse opened their 2018 season with a dramatic 13-11 win over New England College Tuesday afternoon.

THE BASICS

UMass Boston 13, New England College 11

UMass Boston (1-0)
New England College (0-1)

HOW IT HAPPENED

After registering nine goals through the first two quarters, the Beacons had to hang on over the final 30 minutes, as the host Pilgrims tried to mount a late comeback.  Leading by two goals with less than eight minutes to play, the Beacons got the crucial game-winning tally from Lenfest off-of a Tre Mason (Kelowna, B.C.) assist with 3:17 to play in regulation. 

NEC did cut the deficit back to two (13-11) with 42 seconds left in regulation, but that late push was stopped by the Beacons defense and freshman netminder Alex Fawcett (Londonderry, N.H.).

In his collegiate debut, Fawcett made an impressive 15 saves on 26 shots on goal. 

Senior Clay Arnold (Syracuse, N.Y.) started his final season off as a Beacon with a hat trick while also tallying an assist.  Mason also had a big day in his collegiate debut as he finished with three assists. 

Tom Redmond (Scituate, Mass.) carried UMB on the face-off dot with a 14-for-19 showing, while Jacob Sinclair-Steeves (North Reading, Mass.) finished 4-for-8. 

Defensively, Jack Dillon (Barrington, R.I.) carried the Beacons with five groundballs, while Kroy Arnold (Syracuse, N.Y.) caused a team-high four turnovers. 

BY THE NUMBERS

• On the day the Beacons led in groundballs 30-24 and outshot the Pilgrims 71-35
• UMB registered two man-up goals and went 2-for-5 on the man-up opportunities
• The Beacons forced 21 turnovers, and were nearly perfect on clear attempts as they went 16-17
• All-time UMB is now 4-1 against New England College, and have won three straight
• The Beacons recorded a season-opening for the fifth straight season

WHO'S NEXT

The Beacons will host Wentworth Institute of Technology on Saturday at 1 p.m.