HENNIKER, N.H. – The New England College men's lacrosse team lost 8-4 to visiting Nichols College on Wednesday evening at Don Melander Field in Henniker, New Hampshire.
THE BASICS
Score: Nichols 8, New England College 4
Records: Pilgrims 0-3 | Bison 5-1
HOW IT HAPPENED
- The 'Grims, hungry for their first win of the season, would strike first as NEC sophomore attacker Thomas Norton (Mansfield, Mass.) would score his fourth goal of the season with 10:02 to go in the first to put the hosts up 1-0. The Bison found the equalizer with 5:37 remaining in the first quarter as Nichols graduate attacker Hunter Ferreira (Mansfield, Mass.) found junior attacker Colby Gillis (Northborough, Mass.) who found the back of the net, knotting it at 1-1. Two minutes later, Norton would find senior midfielder Nicholas Dorain (Wilder, Vt.) for his first goal of the season, giving the Pilgrims the lead once again. Then with 2:37 to go in the opening stanza, Gillis would again finish off a pass from Ferreira to end the first quarter with a score of 2-2.
- The second quarter was a defensive struggle as both teams desperately attempted to break the stalemate. Nichols graduate attacker Cian Keohane (Yorktown Heights, N.Y.) finally broke it with his 12th goal of the season with 6:39 to go in the half. Then with 1:57 left, Keohane would capitalize off a NEC penalty to score again as the visitors went up 4-2 going into halftime.
- Just 11 seconds into the third quarter, the 'Grims would pull to within one as NEC junior attacker Matt Daley (Plymouth, Mass.) scored his team-leading fifth goal of the season off a putback, making the score 4-3.
- That remained the score going into the fourth quarter. The Bison finally got their insurance goal back on a score from senior midfielder Ryan Warner (Grafton, Mass.) with 13:53 to go in the game. Ferreira, Nichols' leading scorer headed into the game with 16 goals, scored his 17th with 12:02 left.
- Refusing to go away quietly, NEC would answer with 8:26 remaining when freshman midfielder Nathan Hawkins (Salisbury, N.H.) scored his second career goal to pull the 'Grims to within 6-4. But that would be as close as they could get as Gillis scored to complete the hat trick with 5:45 to go.
INSIDE THE NUMBERS
- NEC sophomore goaltender Connor Almstrom (Cumberland, R.I.) tallied a career-high 21 saves on the night for the 'Grims. The two-time reigning New England Collegiate Conference (NECC) Defensive Player of the Week turned in arguably the best game of his career with a 0.724 save percentage.
- Nichols sophomore goalie Brady Morgan (Framingham, Mass.) finished with six stops for the Bison.
- NEC junior midfielder Thomas Doe (Windham, N.H.) led the 'Grims with five ground balls while freshman long-stick midfielder Jackson Kain (Plattsburgh, N.Y.) posted three caused turnovers.
- Total shots were 53-18 in favor of Nichols.
UP NEXT
- NEC is back on the field on Saturday when they travel to Saint Joseph's College Maine for a 1:00 p.m. game.
- Nichols plays their next game at Gwynedd Mercy University next Wednesday at 4:00 p.m.
