Men’s Lacrosse Con dent in Teams Future

By Nick Fiore; Editor-in-Chief

On April 3, 2018

Pin It

Men’s Lacrosse Con dent in Teams Future

Nick Fiore

Editor -in- Chief

nsfiore@plymouth.edu

Ever since the Men's Lacrosse team recorded their first win of the season against Norwich, they have dropped their past two against Curry and Wheaton. Even though our record might not show it, we've improved with each game so far” said Junior Paul Luongo (Northborough, MA). “We still have high expectations for this season and as a team we always set the goal to beat Keene for the LEC title”.

Plymouth lost to Curry 11-7 after keeping the game close throughout the first 3 periods. Plymouth had even fought back to take the lead late in the 3rd period. After that, Curry ran away with it, scoring 5 straight goals. Luongo, Sophomore Griffin Jacobson (Windham, ME) and the reigning LEC Offensive Player of the Week, Connor Delea (Manchester, N.H.), each scored two goals apiece. Junior Jake Burns (Salem, N.H.) rounded out the scoring for the Panthers on the day netting one goal and also assisting Luongo on one of his goals.

Junior Goalkeeper Zel Kerkel (Loudon, N.H.) had an outstanding afternoon, making 19 saves and finishing his day with a 63.3% save percentage. Kerkel had previously earned LEC Goalie of the Week for his 15 save performance against Norwich.

“I’m pleased with how I have played so far this season” said Kerkel, “but I am a strong believer in that there is always room for improvement and I still make mistakes in games and I will always be working towards eliminating those mistakes”.

Over spring break Plymouth traveled to Wheaton College for a night match up. The Panthers fought all game. At one point they held a 6-2 lead in the first period. Like the Curry game, The Panthers kept it within reach throughout the entire match. Never getting behind by more than four goals near the end, effectively resulting in a 12-10 victory for Wheaton.

Junior Ryan Croatti (Brunswick, ME) led the scoring for the Panthers with 2 goals. Junior Chris Waterbury (Clinton, CT) led the team in points with 3 (1 goal and 2 assists). Luongo and Jacobson each continued their scoring ways, each with a goal apiece.

“We as a team definitely felt we were evenly matched with them” said Luongo, “However, Wheaton did a good job of playing more consistent throughout the whole game. If we can find a way to play a full 60 minutes as well, we are going to have a lot more success”.

v“...regarding Wheaton it was just a great game all around, I thought we played very well and they played well”, Kerkel said, “It was a good learning experience as a team and I think we can grow from it and learn that we need to give the same effort every minute of the game, not just rely on a 4 goal lead”.

Plymouth looks to bounce back and shake off the slow start to the season when they host LEC opponent, Western Connecticut, at the Holderness School. The game is set for 12pm on Saturday March 31st.

Kerkel is confident in his team saying “We have high expectations for what we can accomplish in our conference. Our record so far has been entirely out of conference teams and our record doesn’t reflect the close games we have had and our potential as a team”.