BOSTON, Mass. – Sophomore Scott McCormack's (Norwalk, Conn.) goal with 2:54 left in regulation snapped a 10-all tie and lifted the Endicott College men's lacrosse team to an 11-10 win over Wentworth Institute of Technology in Commonwealth Coast Conference play at Sweeney Field.
Sophomore Nick Pinciaro (Beverly, Mass.) gave the Gulls a 2-1 lead with goals coming with 12:01 and 8:04 left, sandwiched around a Leopard goal by senior Connor Swanson (Holden, Mass.). Wentworth junior Steve Glover (Marstons Mills, Mass.) scored two goals in 56 seconds to give the hosts a 3-2 lead with 6:29 left and sophomore Michael Cushera (Waltham, Mass.) scored with 5:02 left to give Wentworth a 4-2 lead after one quarter.
Junior Chris Kipp (Scarborough, Maine) put the Black & Gold ahead 5-2 with a goal 1:41 into the second quarter before the Gulls scored three straight to tie it at 5-all. Senior Connor McCormack (Norwalk, Conn.), Scott McCormack, and Pinciaro each scored for the Gulls. Kipp put the Leopards ahead, 6-5, with 6:03 left, however Connor McCormack scored with 1:02 left to even the game at 6-all.
Wentworth scored both goals in the third quarter as freshman Nick Parent (Windham, N.H.) tallied twice. – once from sophomore Ryan Coakley (Flemington, N.J.) and the other from Cushera.
The Leopards extended their lead to 9-6 with 12:04 left in the game when Kipp scored his third of the game in a man-up situation. However, Endicott capitalized on two Wentworth turnovers that led directly to a pair of goals 34 seconds apart by sophomore Kyle Weber (West Hartford, Conn.).
After Cushera gave the Leopards a 10-8 lead with 6:31 left, Weber drew the Gulls back within one with 5:15 left, with a goal coming off a Wentworth turnover. Endicott tied the game with 5:39 left when Weber fed junior Chris Murphy (Holden, Mass.), and, after winning the ensuing face-off and working the ball around, Scott McCormack put Endicott ahead with 2:52 left.
The Leopards had a chance for a tying goal, however a turnover gave Endicott the ball back with 41 seconds left and were able to run out the clock.
Weber finished with three goals and two assists, Pinciaro added three goals and an assist, Scott and Connor McCormack each had two goals, and Morgan had three assists. Senior Sam Ozyck (Medford, Mass.) was dominant at the face-off X, winning 22 of 25 draws and picking up 19 ground balls. Junior Nick Triano (North Andover, Mass.) allowed one goal in the final 8:20 of action, coming on in place of freshman Cameron Bell (Falmouth, Maine).
Kipp finished with three goals for Wentworth, while Parent, Glover, and Cushera each added two apiece. Cushera also had two assists. Coakley finished the game with five assists and freshman Tim Parlato (Needham, Mass.) picked up nine ground balls. Junior Jared Proulx (Nashua, N.H.) made 17 saves.
Endicott held a 47-28 shot advantage and a 54-30 ground ball advantage, in addition to winning 22 of 25 faceoffs. The Gulls were also successful on 19 of 20 clears.
Winners of four straight, Endicott (7-3, 3-0) hosts Salve Regina on Saturday. Wentworth falls to 6-2 (1-2) and hosts Mass. Maritime on Thursday night.
