BOSTON, MA - UMass Boston Men's Lacrosse advanced to their third consecutive Little East Conference championship game, cooling off a streaking Plymouth State team with a 14-11 semifinal victory.

THE BASICS

UMass Boston 14, Plymouth State 11

UMass Boston (12-6)
Plymouth State (14-4)

HOW IT HAPPENED

Thanks to an unexpected bye in the first round of the LEC tournament, the Beacons had two extra days to prepare for the white-hot Plymouth State Panthers. After dropping back-to-back regular season games, including a 21-6 loss to the Beacons, the Panthers won seven straight, allowing more than nine goals just once.

Playing at a slower pace than normal, the Beacons managed to find cracks in the Panthers' strong defense in the first. Gavin Admirand opened the scoring with just over 12 minutes to play courtesy of an assist from Jacob Banks. Admirand would net one more goal and Banks another assist before the quarter was over, each with Zach Mann on the other end. 

Plymouth State notched their third goal with less than a minute to play in the first, knotting the score at 3-3.

After falling behind momentarily in the second, the Beacons ripped off five unanswered goals to take an 8-4 lead. The five goals came from the team's three leading scorers in Admirand, Connor Smith, and Banks. Liam Bowler added a pair of assists during the run. 

With 1:02 to play in the first half, Admirand's fourth goal of the day appeared to give the Beacons a 9-6 lead heading into halftime. However, Plymouth State once again found net with under a minute to play, cutting the lead to 9-7. 

Admirand's first goal of the second half, which pushed the Beacons' lead to 10-8, was good for his 116th point of the season, giving him sole possession of the program's single-season record, breaking Jamie Mulroney's 30-year-old total. 

The Panthers quickly responded to the historic goal, netting two in just over two minutes to tie the game with 1:26 left to play in the quarter. 

On the Beacons' next goal, Admirand recorded his 125th career assist, topping Mulroney's 124 to become the program's all-time leader. Admirand now owns the "triple crown" of program records, sitting atop the career leaderboard in individual goals, assists, and points. 

The end of the third quarter was the Beacons' turn to score a goal just shy of the buzzer. Charlie Chapman found the back of the net with 32 seconds to play to break the tie, 11-10.

The Beacons added two goals in the first ten minutes of the fourth quarter, stretching their lead to 13-10.

With 1:35 to play, the Panthers converted a clear attempt, needing a goal to salvage their hopes. Jack Ranta spoiled the possession before it could get started, causing a turnover that lead directly to a goal, extending the lead to 14-10.

The Beacons' defensive unit caused problems for the Panthers all afternoon. Four different players caused multiple turnovers and nine contributed multiple ground balls.

During the Beacons' 3-0 run in the fourth, Admirand made more history by recording his 72nd goal and 49th assist of the season, tying the program's single-season marks for each.

Trevor Koppy stood tall in goal in the second half, saving five shots while allowing just four goals. He limited the Panthers in his 60 minutes in goal, earning the 14-11 victory.

BY THE NUMBERS

• With at least one more game left to play, Admirand needs three goals to become the program's first 200-goal scorer
• Jason McNeany and Matt Lucozzi, who ranked 16th and 17th, respectively, in faceoff winning percentage in all of Division III coming into Thursday, combined to win 19 of their 27 draws
• The Beacons scooped twice as many ground balls as the Panthers, winning by a margin of 46-23
• The Beacons will look to win their third consecutive LEC tournament championship on Saturday. They would join Keene State and Eastern Connecticut as the only schools to do so
• UMass Boston has won five straight matchups with Plymouth State, improving their record in the all-time series to 21-26

WHO'S NEXT

The Beacons will face the winner of the second LEC semifinal matchup between Keene State and Western Connecticut in the LEC championship game. The Owls and Wolves will face off at 7 pm on Thursday, May 4. The Beacons would host the championship game if Keene State were to advance. They would travel to Western Connecticut if they are the team to advance.