CHICOPEE, Mass. – The New England College men's lacrosse team claim victory in the final game of the season against the host Elms College in Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) action on Wednesday at Timothy J. Leary Field in Chicopee, Massachusetts.
 
THE BASICS
Score:                    New England College 13, Elms College 5
Records:               Pilgrims 4-11, 3-7 GNAC | Blazers 5-9, 3-7 GNAC
 
HOW IT HAPPENED

• In the last game of the season for the 'Grims was able to come out to a hot start from the beginning in this one as they managed to excel out to a three-goal lead with goals scored by junior attacker Henri Pfeifle (Darien, Conn.) and junior attacker Thomas Norton (Mansfield, Mass.).
• EC looked to bounce back after a lack of scoring for the majority of the quarter as they got themselves back into the mix with a goal scored at 1:21 by freshman Jesse Hagen (Cold Spring, N.Y.).
• At the start of the second quarter would start in similar fashion as NEC scored off a feed from senior midfielder Joey Olsen (Mansfield, Mass.) that found its way into the stick of senior midfielder Kyle Hamilton (Londonderry, N.H.) scoring from inside the crease to get things started in favor of the 'Grims. A few minutes later at 7:48 Norton used his vision to find senior midfielder Thomas Doe (Windham, N.H.) open for yet another NEC goal. NEC didn't cease the momentum they made for themselves as Pfeifle fired off another two consecutive goals to continue to pile on the lead the 'Grims have created. The quarter concluded with the 'Grims tacking on another goal after a successful clear was obtained at 4:26 allowed for the team to settle into their offense and make for senior attacker Matt Daley (Plymouth, Mass.) who was behind the back of the net to find senior midfielder Joey Olsen (Mansfield, Mass.) who came crashing down into scoring territory for the goal to conclude the quarter going into the half on top, 8-1.
• The third quarter was more of a defensive stand on both sides with only one goal scored by each team. EC scored at 4:10 by freshman Luciano Jordan Canino (Dalton, Mass.) assisted by Hegan. NEC responded with under a minute to go sophomore long-stick midfielder Jackson Kain (Plattsburgh, N.Y.) found himself on the offensive side of the field for change and it paid dividends for the team as he picked off the goalkeeper inside the crease and fired the ball back his way into the back of the net for the final goal to conclude the quarter.
• In the fourth quarter Daley got into the scoring mix with a goal of his own causing problems for the Blazers defense to handle as he scored at 13:18 assisted by Pfeifle.
•  EC didn't help their cause as they committed some penalties that turned into man-up opportunities in favor of NEC that resulted in three 'Grims goals by Olsen, freshman midfielder Duncan Fleming (St. Paul, Minn.), and Doe all scoring. Over the course of the quarter EC tried to fight their way back into the game but the offense of NEC proved to be too much for the Blazers on the evening under the bright lights as the 'Grims win this one in their final game of the season, 13-5.

 
INSIDE THE NUMBERS

• NEC freshman goalkeeper Nate Finn (Norwood, Mass.) finished the game with 13 saves.
• EC freshman goalkeeper Casey Dmochowski (Rutland, Mass.) did all he could in between the pipes for the Blazers ending with an impressive 27 saves. Sophomore Caleb Smith (Suffield, Conn.) made an appearance for the Blazers as well.
• Shots on the night were weighed in favor of the 'Grims with 52 and the Blazers having 43.
• Three 'Grims performed well on the night making their presence known from start to finish as Daley, Pfeifle, and Norton ended with five points each respectively.
• EC Jordan Canino led the team in goals acquiring two.
• NEC managed to keep the turnovers down to just 13 compared to EC's 27.
• Clears were executed well by NEC going 25-for-29 in that category while EC went 18-for-30.

 
UP NEXT

• Congratulations to the NEC men's lacrosse team gaining one more win to close out the season and ending things on a high note!

 
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