WILLIMANTIC, C.T. - A first quarter deficit did little to deter the UMass Boston Men's Lacrosse team en route to their 17-12 victory over Eastern Connecticut State University on Saturday afternoon. With the victory the Beacons improved to 4-1 in Little East Conference play.

THE BASICS
UMass Boston 17, Eastern Connecticut State University 12

UMass Boston (10-4, 4-1 LEC)
Eastern Connecticut State University (4-9, 1-4 LEC)

HOW IT HAPPENED
The Beacons wasted no time opening things up on Saturday, turning their first possession of the day into their first score. The Greg Wolff goal assisted by Zach Mann put the visitors up 1-0. Mann would dish out another assist, this time to Sean Daly, two minutes later to preserve the lead, 2-1. The Warriors, however, responded loudly, ripping off three unanswered goals to take a 4-2 lead.

The Beacons tied the game up at four courtesy of Mann's third and fourth assists of the afternoon. A score with just over a minute remaining in the first quarter gave the Warriors a 5-4 lead.

An Eastern Connecticut cross check in the opening minutes of the second put the Warriors on a two minute unreleaseable penalty. Liam Bowler was quick to take advantage of the extended man up opportunity, dishing out assists to Luke Murphy and Daly to retake the lead. A separate ECSU penalty opened the door for Wolff's second goal of the day and the Beacons third unanswered, all with an extra player.

Mann took a break from distributing for his first score of the day and was quickly followed by Murphy's second. Behind the late push from the offense, the Beacons took a 9-6 lead into halftime.

Patrick Carey made sure the momentum from the end of the first half survived the intermission. Less than two minutes into the second half, he scooped a ground ball, converted the clear on his own, and rifled a shot into the net for his fourth goal of the season.

A pair of scores pulled the Warriors within two, 10-8, but were quickly answered by a trio of goals that saw Daly net his 40th. Those scores, however, saw their own answer, as Eastern ripped off two in the final minute of the third to pull within three, 13-10.

In the fourth quarter, the players of the game solidified themselves as such for the Beacons. Daly's 41st and 42nd goals sandwiched Mann's second goal, his sixth point of the afternoon, to extend the lead to 16-10. Daly's eighth point of the day was an assist to Murphy to secure the 17-12 victory for the visitors.

BY THE NUMBERS

• Daly's eight points tie a season high (3/6 vs. Wheaton)
• Mann's four assists in the first quarter tie four other players for the second most in a period in program history
• The Beacons converted on 21 of their 22 clear attempts
• Justin McCullough caused four turnovers while scooping five ground balls
• After going winless in their first 26 meetings with the Warriors, the Beacons have won the last four in the series

WHO'S NEXT
The Beacons take their final road trip of the season on Wednesday, April 17 when they travel to Gorham to take on the Huskies of the University of Southern Maine at 4 PM.