Salve Regina Spolis TCCC Opener for Wentworth

(Courtesy of Salve Regina Sports Information)

MIDDLETOWN, R.I. - Senior Ben Caron (East Longmeadow, Mass.) and sophomore Chris Walker (Marshfield, Mass.) each scored five goals to lead the Salve Regina University men's lacrosse team to an 18-7 win over Wentworth Institute of Technology in The Commonwealth Coast Conference (TCCC) action Saturday afternoon at Gaudet Field.

Walker and junior Blair Kelley (Lee, N.H.) each dished out four assists for the Seahawks (4-3, 1-1 TCCC), who have won two-straight and three of their last four. Junior Matt Cox (Granger, Ind.) and freshman Mark Pappas (Worcester, Mass.) each scored three times for the Leopards, who fell to 1-2 (0-1 TCCC).

The Seahawks raced out to a 4-0 lead in the first period behind two tallies from Walker and one each from Caron and junior Mike Augustus (Bristol, R.I.). Freshman Mike Sharpe (Needham, Mass.) got the Leopards on the board 15 seconds into the second to make it 4-1, but goals by Walker and Caron at 13:29 and 9:02 pushed the Salve Regina lead to five at 6-1. Pappas answered with his ninth of the season at 6:46 to make it 6-2 before junior Brendan Rooney (West Newton, Mass.) potted his 14th of the season at 6:02 to give SRU a 7-2 lead. Sophomore Mike Swenson (East Lyme, Conn.) closed the half with his first goal of the season for WIT, which was outshot 20-12 in the first half.

Salve Regina received goals by Kelley and graduate student Nick Clark (Rye, N.H.) in the third and led 9-4 going into the fourth after a late Pappas marker for WIT. From there, the Seahawks reeled off seven-consecutive goals to build a commanding 16-4 lead with 8:37 remaining in the fourth. Walker and Rooney each had two goals during the run before Wentworth potted three of the last five goals of the game, including two off the stick of Cox, to close the game.

Along with nine points (5-4-9) from Walker and five from Kelley (1-4-5), Rooney finished with six points (3-3-6) while Clark had two (1-1-2) for Salve Regina. Sophomore Mike Swenson (East Lyme, Conn.) had a team-high 10 ground balls for WIT. Freshman Chris Connors (Garden City, N.Y.) made six saves in 51:23 of action to move to 3-3 on the season for the Seahawks. Freshman Jeff Novak (Killingworth, Conn.) stopped 13 shots for the Leopards before being replaced at halftime.

The Seahawks outshot the Leopards 41-34 on the afternoon, held a 51-45 edge in ground balls, and went 2-for-7 with the extra man.

The Seahawks return to action on Monday when they host Trinity at 3:30 p.m. at Gaudet Field. The Leopards host the University of New England Wednesday night at 7 p.m.