Strong Second Half Lifts Aurora Past Men's Lacrosse

WHITTIER, Calif. – The Aurora University men's lacrosse team held Wentworth Institute of Technology without a goal for 21:38 to turn an 8-all game into an 18-8 lead as the Spartans defeated Wentworth Institute of Technology, 19-11, in a non-conference contest played at Whittier College.

Aurora improves to 4-0, while Wentworth drops to 0-3.

The first four minutes of the first quarter belonged to Wentworth as the Leopards took the 3-0 lead. Senior James Caldwell (New Milford, Conn.) set up freshman Jack Zaylor (Hanover, Mass.) for the first marker of the game, followed by back-to-back unassisted goals by senior Alec Paradis (Pelham, N.H.). After Wentworth grabbed the 3-0 advantage, Aurora's offense took over and nabbed the 8-3 edge at the end of the first thanks to three goals by junior Bailey Smith (Northbrook, Ill.).

Wentworth answered with five straight goals of its own in the second quarter as freshman Sean Brennan's (Stony Point, N.Y.) unassisted goal at 3:17 was the equalizer at 8-8. With under two minutes remaining in the first half, junior Matt Sammarco (Western Springs, Ill.) and sophomore JK Torres (Stevenson Ranch, Calif.) tallied goals that gave the Spartans the two-goal edge at 10-8.

The Spartans kept its momentum going from the first half going as they sparked an eight-goal attack that put them up 18-8 at the end of three, including two more goals from Smith. The Leopards began to chip away at the Spartans' lead with goals from Paradis and Brennan, but it was not enough as the comeback fell short as Aurora took the 19-11 victory.

Paradis led the Wentworth offense with four goals and three assists while Brennan (two goals, one assist) and Zaylor (two goals) had multiple point games. Caldwell tallied one assist and had four caused turnover and senior Tim Parlato (Needham, Mass.) scooped up nine ground balls. Sophomore Adam Dufault (Lexington, Mass.) (0-3) made eight saves though 37:03 minutes of play, with sophomore Scott Boucher (Salisbury, N.H.) saving three shots in relief.

Freshman Tyler Lombardi (Poway, Calif.) improved to 4-0 in the win for the Spartans, saving 11 shots.

Aurora held the 41-31 shot advantage, as well as ground balls (49-38). Wentworth went 2-for-3 in man-up opportunities, while Aurora went 1-for-3.

Wentworth travels to Mount Ida on March 12th and is set for a 3:00 start.