The Plymouth State University Men’s Lacrosse team fell to 7-5 after a defeat at the hands of UMass Dartmouth 13-6. The game, which was played at Dartmouth, showed the Panther’s exceptional ability to come within striking distance, as Mike Russell scored three goals in the third quarter to bring the game to within 3 goals.
On the offensive side of the ball, the Panthers were lead by Mike Russell, Brian Giroux, Matt Johansmeyer, and Tim Hadley, all of whom scored goals for the Panthers. PSU took on 26 shots on net but the few shots they missed were well placed. The Corsairs, on the other hand, took 44 shots on goal and 13 of them found the back of the net. Matt Leary and Andrew Foster lead the scoring for the Corsairs with three goals each and were helped out by the assists from Tim Walsh.
PSU showed solid goal keeping by both of their goalies Billy Morgan and Kevin Hayes. Hayes and Morgan teamed up to make a respectable 13 saves. UMass got a very solid effort out of their goal keeper Steve Chase who made 14 saves.
With the loss PSU falls to 2-4 in the Little East Conference and travels to Castleton State before returning home for their first home game of the season. UMass Dartmouth will host the Mustangs of Mount Ida and are currently 3-2 in the LEC. The current leader in the LEC is Eastern Connecticut, who is undefeated in conference play and 9-5 overall.
With the game against 10-4 Castleton State this past Tues. April 22, first-year attack Andrew Eriksen spoke about what the team needs to do for the rest of the season, “We need to start playing and stop waiting until the second half before we really start playing.” As for the Spartans, Eriksen said, “We’ve got to play them like any other team, and just play our game,” Castleton was coming off a 20-5 trouncing of Becker College and is sitting at second place in the North Atlantic Conference behind Mount Ida. The Spartans have averaged 20 points in their last three contests, including 21 against Lyndon State, while the Panthers have averaged 12 points including a 20-point game against Southern Maine.
With only a few games left in the season before the LEC Tournament, the Panthers are looking to win out, because after their latest contest they are done league play, “We’re looking to win out and make a push in the playoffs,” Eriksen, who has contributed 12 points overall this year and is looking to get better during the playoffs, said. This upcoming Sat. April 26 will be the Panther’s final game of the season. Game time will be 2:00 p.m. at the PSU athletic field.