BOSTON, Mass. – Sophomore Jude Marzec (West Islip, N.Y.) scored with 9:32 remaining in the fourth quarter to snap a 5-all tie as the Roger Williams University men's lacrosse team picked up a 7-5 win over Wentworth Institute of Technology in the Commonwealth Coast Conference opener for both teams on Saturday afternoon.
Marzec's goal came in the midst of a three-goal fourth quarter as the Hawks erased a 5-4 deficit at the end of three quarters of play and held the hosts scoreless over the final 17:46.
Roger Williams used a man-up goal from freshman Jared Grier (Quincy, Mass.) 2:35 into the contest to take a 1-0 lead. The lead would be short-lived, however, as Wentworth scored twice in a span of 3:02 to take a 2-1 lead. Senior Kevin Butler (Jefferson, Mass.) and sophomore Dolan McCarthy (Hyde Park, Mass.) scored for the Leopards with freshman Jack O'Neill (Groton, Mass.) assisting on both tallies.
The Hawks scored three straight in the second quarter and took a 4-2 lead on a junior Peter Navarro (Londonderry, N.H.) goal with 3:07 left in the half. Freshman Tim Mullane (Hanover, Mass.) and Grier also scored for Roger Williams during the spurt. On the ensuing faceoff, senior Brad Krueger (Chelmsford, Mass.) scooped up the ground ball and went in alone to pull Wentworth to within a goal (4-3).
Freshman Ben Coakley (Flemington, N.J.) was set up by junior Jacob Eldred (Goffstown, N.H.) 3:03 into the third quarter than Eldred scored from sophomore Kyle Doner (Lindenhurst, N.Y.) with 2:46 left in the third making it 5-4 in favor of the hosts.
Grier tallied his third of the game, off a pass from Marzec, to tie the score at 5-all 1:58 into the frame before Mullane set up Marzec for the eventual game winner. Wentworth had chances to tie the score, however junior Weston Nolan (Falmouth, Maine) had three saves in a 53-second span to keep his team in front. With 1:10 remaining, Grier set up Justin MacIntyre (Norwalk, Conn.) for an insurance goal.
Grier finished with three goals and an assist to lead the Hawk offense. Nolan and sophomore Harrison Levesque (Ridgefield, Conn.) each picked up six ground balls in the win.
Eldred had a goal and an assist and also caused a pair of turnovers while O'Neill had two helpers for Wentworth. Coakley had a team-high five ground balls.
Nolan made 10 saves for Roger Williams while senior Adam Dufault (Lexington, Mass.) made 12 saves – including many from close range – for Wentworth. Shots were even at 28-all while the Hawks had a 36-25 ground ball advantage.
Wentworth (5-2, 0-1 CCC) is at Nichols on Tuesday. That same day Roger Williams hosts Salve Regina.
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