BOSTON, Mass. – Junior Joseph Natale (Haverhill, Mass.) tallied five goals, including the game winner with 5:19 left in the fourth quarter as the Curry College men's lacrosse team erased a 7-2 halftime deficit and defeated Wentworth, 10-8, in Commonwealth Coast Conference action.
Wentworth got on the board early on a freshman Michael Cushera (Waltham, Mass.) goal 56 seconds into the contest. The lead held until the 10:59 mark when Natale scored his first of the contest. Freshman Dillon Lynch (Southwick, Mass.) scored 1:07 later to give the Leopards a 2-1 lead. Freshman Joseph Castellano (Scarsdale, N.Y.) knotted the game at 2-all with a goal with 7:57 left before senior Justin Connors (Richboro, Pa.) closed out the first period scoring with a goal with 4:47 to play.
Connors' goal sparked a 5-0 run by Wentworth, which outscored the Colonels by a 4-0 margin in the second stanza. Sophomore Max Blum (New Fairfield, Conn.) put home a pair of goals within 2:38 of each other to extend the lead to 5-2, while classmates Steve Glover (Marstons Mills, Mass.) and Chris Kipp (Scarborough, Maine) put Wentworth ahead, 7-2, at the break.
The Colonels scored the first four goals of the third quarter as Natale tallied twice and senior Russell Lanham (Silver Spring, Md.) and sophomore Harrison Foster (Saddle River, N.J.) scored to cut the lead to 7-6 before Glove closed out the quarter with a goal with 40 seconds left to make it 8-6.
Latham scored with 11:03 left in the fourth to make it a one-goal game before Natale scored at 8:26 to tie the game and got the go-ahead goal with 5:19 left. Castellano added an insurance marker at 3:33 to make it 10-8. Wentworth had two chances to score late in the contest but senior Michael Hibbard (North Chelmsford, Mass.) kept the Black & Gold off the board.
In addition to Natale's five goals, Castellano had two goals and two assists while Lanham added two goals. Foster won 13 of 21 face offs and Hibbard had a game-high six ground balls.
Glover and Blum finished with two goals apiece for Wentworth, which got 11 saves from junior Jared Proulx (Nashua, N.H.).
Winners of two in a row Curry improves to 8-6 overall and 1-4 in CCC play. The Colonels are at Western New England on Saturday. Wentworth drops its second straight to stand at 2-10 (0-6). The Leopards close out the 2012 season Saturday night against Roger Williams.
