PLYMOUTH – It might have been a cold, blustery day, but the action on the Men’s lacrosse field was hot as Plymouth lost a high-scoring battle to Eastern Connecticut, 14-10, in last Saturday’s conference showdown at Panther Field.
Senior Captain Jon Gagnon (New Bedford, Mass.) scored three goals for the Panthers, while sophomore Adam Krinsky (Concord, N.H.) added three goals and three assists. Sophomore Tyler Prescott (Norwalk, Conn.) led the Warriors with three goals and an assist as Eastern Connecticut improved to 4-3 on the season, and 2-0 against the conference. The Panthers are now 2-1 in the Little East and 3-6 overall.
Eastern Connecticut started strong out of the gate, riding a pair of goals from Prescott to five first-quarter goals. Plymouth answered back with goals from Gagnon and Senior Matt Fontenault (North Kingston, R.I.) to make it 5-2 after the first. In the second quarter, Eastern Connecticut scored five more goals, but Plymouth once again answered back with goals from Gagnon and Freshman Nate Gooden (New Boston, N.H.) to keep the Panthers within reach.
The Panthers came back strong in the start of the second half, outscoring Eastern Conn in the third quarter with goals from Junior Dan Maiorana (Walpole, Mass.) and Fontenault to reduce the Warrior lead. In the fourth quarter, Krinsky took charge with three goals to reduce the lead further. Unfortunately, the Warriors were able to answer back with three more goals to keep the Panthers at bay, eventually pulling off the four-point victory.
Despite the loss, the Panthers played a very tough, physical game. In addition to Gagnon and Krinsky’s offense, Goalie Steve Valeri (Chelmsford, Mass.) finished the game with 16 saves, and Junior Nick Grobe (Northboro, Mass.) added two more saves while Valeri was serving a penalty. Prescott received support on the Warriors offense from Senior Brian Weigand (Manhasset, N.Y) who added three goals of his own, while Junior Chris Elrod (Riverside, Conn.) and Senior Rob Quamily (Mamaroneck, N.Y) both added two goals and an assist apiece. Goalie Kyle Savage (Southington, Conn.) played strong defense between the pipes and added 14 saves to keep Eastern Conn on top.
Having suffered their first conference loss, the Panthers looked to rebound as they continued play through the week. The Panthers followed up their loss with a 16-0 victory over Mitchell on Sunday, then traveled to Keene State Wednesday to face the rival Owls. The Panthers will get another chance on their home field Saturday, when they face conference opponent UMass Boston at 1:00 pm.