PAXTON, Mass. – The New England College Men's Lacrosse team's fast start is enough, as the Pilgrims open the season with a 10-6 win over Anna Maria College in non-conference action, Wednesday afternoon.

THE BASICS
Score: New England College 10, Anna Maria College 6

Records: Pilgrims (1-0, 0-0 NECC) | AMCats (0-2, 0-0 GNAC)

HOW IT HAPPENED

New England College came out of the gates fast, as Lucas Ferreira scored the opening goal just over a minute in. Anna Maria tied the game up as Nick Massaro scored an up goal at the 10:10 marker. While down a man, Connor Smith regained the lead for the Pilgrims, which kicked off a run of five-straight goals by NEC to go up 6-1. The AMCats picked up a goal in the final minute of the first quarter to make it 6-2 after one.

The scoring slowed down after the first, but NEC would get two goals in the second quarter, as Josh Owens and Smith recorded tallies. New England College went into halftime up 8.3.

After Quinn Hannagan got Anna Maria within two (8-6), following three straight goals, Connor Smith put the game out of reach, as the attack recorded two goals to seal the 10-6 with for the Pilgrims.

INSIDE THE NUMBERS

• Michael Catalano recorded 13 saves in the crease for NEC.
• The Pilgrims outshot the AMCats 39-23
• TJ Nong and Lucas Ferreira recorded a pair of goals, while Thomas Norton and Josh Owen had two helpers on the afternoon.
• NEC won 12-of-18 faceoffs, with Quint Bartush winning 11 of them.
• New England College leads the all-time series 4-0.

UP NEXT

• NEC at Johnson & Wales, Saturday, Feb. 26, 7:00 pm
• AMC at Merchant Marine, Saturday, Feb. 26, 12:00 pm