SPARKS, Md. – The New England College men's lacrosse team kept it close but could not regain the lead in the B.O.N.E. (Battle of New England) matchup against the University of New England in non-conference action on Monday evening at the Tierney Field at USA Lacrosse in Sparks, Maryland. 

THE BASICS 
Score: New England College 8, University of New England 11 
Records: Pilgrims 0-3, 0-0 GNAC | Nor'easters 3-5, 0-0 CCC 

HOW IT HAPPENED 

• NEC drew first blood 3:26 into the game where senior attacker Matt Daley (Plymouth, Mass.) put in a goal in the rivaled annual matchup as he was assisted by junior attacker Henri Pfeifle (Darien, Conn.). 
• Moments later, UNE's sophomore midfielder Shea Fogarty (Melrose, Mass.) scored on what would be the opening of a Nor'easter 6-0 run. The run lasted from 10:50 to 2:53 into the first quarter as his brother Stephen Fogarty (Melrose, Mass.) scored two straight with Shea Fogarty connected on the last goal in that span. 
• The 'Grims would try to cut back into the deficit before the first intermission as junior attacker Thomas Norton (Mansfield, Mass.) struck in a goal at 1:32 remaining followed by Daley 39 seconds later to make it 6-3 in favor of UNE. Yet, a goal with 25 seconds left by sophomore midfielder Elijah Bryan (Franklin, Mass.) gave the Nor'easters a comfortable lead into intermission. 
• NEC gave yet another scoring punch in the second quarter by striking in three goals with two of them coming from the team's season-leading scorer Pfeifle and one coming from senior midfielder Thomas Doe (Windham, N.H.). Stephen Fogarty did chip one in during the middle of that sequence to not go full shutout for UNE as they led at halftime narrowly 8-6. 
• Coming out of halftime, it was all back and forth in the third period of play as both teams alternated scoring possessions totaling at two apiece. Once again it was Norton and Pfeifle for the 'Grims and senior attacker Collin Jackson (Essex, Mass.) and sophomore midfielder David Wilcox (Northbrook, Ill.) for the Nor'easters as they led going into the last intermission 10-8. 
• The fourth quarter was more or less an uneventful period as both teams went at it with goaltenders staying solid until UNE's Shea Fogarty put in the dagger with 2:06 remaining in regulation. As it was the only goal in the final period of play, the Nor'easters would eke out an 11-8 win.  

INSIDE THE NUMBERS 

• NEC junior goalkeeper Hunter Sutcliffe (Warwick, R.I.) tallied eight saves on the day in 44:03 of action. 
• UNE junior goalkeeper Evan Hazard (Milford, Mass.) held sturdy for his team as he came away with 10 saves. 
• The Nor'easters outshot the 'Grims 42-30 in what was most part a close contest. 
• It was a physical matchup as UNE had a total of 50 ground balls compred to NEC's 29. 
• The 'Grims were 22/26 on clears while the Nor'easters were 20/25. 
• Once again, Pfeifle was the player of the day for the grims as he contributed three goals along with four assists and four ground balls. 
• Stephen Fogarty was UNE's most productive player in the match as he came away with three goals, an assist, and a ground ball. His brother Shea also scored on three of their team's goals. 

UP NEXT 

• NEC is back on the field on Saturday, March 16th when they travel to the University of Saint Joseph to take on the Blue Jays at 1:00 PM at the USJ Athletics Complex. 
• UNE plays their next game at their home turf against the UMass-Boston Beacons on Wednesday, March 20th at the Blue Bolt Field with a start time of 4:00 PM. 

For continuing coverage of New England College Athletics, visit athletics.nec.edu and follow the Pilgrims on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram.