STANDISH, Maine – The New England College men's lacrosse team wrapped up their regular season with a 16-10 loss to St Joseph's College of Maine on Wednesday, finishing with a .500 record in conference play and locking up a top four seed in the North Division for the upcoming Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) tournament.
THE BASICS
Score: New England College 10, St. Joseph's (ME) 16
Records: Pilgrims 8-7, 4-3 GNAC | Monks 6-8, 4-4 GNAC
HOW IT HAPPENED
- The Monks jumped out to an early 2-0 lead in the first quarter, but senior attacker Henri Pfeifle (Darien, Conn.) responded with two goals of his own to tie the game up at 2-2 entering quarter number two.
- Things didn't stay tied for long as St. Joseph's rattled off eight straight unanswered goals over the next 22 minutes of game time stretching across the second and third quarters.
- Trailing 10-2, Pfeifle scored two more goals in the third quarter which sandwiched another goal by the hosts. With just seven seconds left in the quarter, senior attacker Thomas Norton (Mansfield, Mass.) brought the 'Grims within six with the team's first goal that didn't come off the stick of Pfeifle, with the assist credited to sophomore attacker Duncan Fleming (St. Paul, Minn.).
- Three minutes into the final quarter, Pfeifle netted his fifth goal of the game; Just 25 seconds after that, junior midfielder Daniel Varga (Hampton, N.J.) got in on the action with his first goal of the game to reduce the Monks' lead to four. That lead would dwindle to three as Fleming, who already had two assists on the day, took it himself and scored his first of the day.
- St Joseph's would answer with back-to-back goals to slow down the Pilgrim comeback. Fleming connected with Norton for another NEC goal, but the Monks followed with two more goals in a span of 11 seconds to go back up by six.
- Varga would score one more goal in the final four minutes, but the Monks would keep the Pilgrims at arm's length down the final stretch of the fourth quarter to secure the win.
INSIDE THE NUMBERS
- SJC goalie Reed Wescott (Windham, Maine) allowed 10 goals and made 10 saves.
- NEC sophomore goalkeeper Nate Finn (Norwood, Mass.) was busy in net, denying 15 of the 31 shots he faced.
- Pfeifle ended the day with five goals and continues to lead the GNAC with 59 goals on the season.
- Varga, who entered the game with the most points in the conference by a healthy margin, scored two goals and made two assists – reaching the 100th career point milestone.
- Fleming totaled four points on one goal and three helpers while Norton tallied two goals scored.
- With two more caused turnovers, junior long-stick midfielder Jackson Kain (Plattsburgh, N.Y.) ends the regular season with a GNAC-leading 52 on the season.
UP NEXT
For continuing coverage of New England College Athletics, visit athletics.nec.edu and follow the Pilgrims on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram.
