BOSTON, Mass. – Sophomore Mark Heatzig (Boca Raton, Fla.) scored a pair of goals and assisted on three others to help pace the MIT men's lacrosse team to a 10-7 win over Wentworth Institute of Technology in non-conference action Wednesday afternoon.
With the win the Engineers improve to 3-2, while the Leopards fall to 2-4 on the season.
The Black & Gold took a 2-0 lead after the first quarter of play, thanks to goals from senior Jacob Eldred (Goffstown, N.H.) and junior Kyle Doner (Lindenhurst, N.Y.), coming at 11:43 and 3:38, respectively. MIT used a pair of goals 61 seconds apart to tie the game with sophomore Gavin Vandenberg (Elmhurst, Ill.) scoring with 13:49 left in the half and junior Aidan Westley (Palos Verdes, Calif.) finding the back of the net with 12:48 remaining. Wentworth regained the lead 7:10 later on a goal from senior Zach Tomaszek (Milford, Conn.) with classmate Jason Buck (Manlius, N.Y.) giving the Leopards a 4-2 lead just 58 seconds later.
MIT scored the first three goals of the second half as Vandenberg, Heatzig, and Westley scored in a span of 5:05 to take a 5-4 lead. Sophomore Ben Coakley (Flemington, N.J.) evened the score at 5-all with a goal with 5:28 left before Westley gave the Engineers a 6-5 lead when he scored with 3:46 left.
Vandenberg put the hosts ahead, 7-5, at the 11:50 mark of the fourth quarter before Buck and Tomaszek scored at 9:20 and 7:45, respectively, to even the score at 7-all. One minute and three seconds later, Heatzig gave MIT an 8-7 lead while junior Jack Strachan (Moresville, N.C.) and sophomore Oliver Heins (Fair Haven, N.J.) added insurance goals late in the contest.
Westley and Vandenberg each finished with three goals in the win while freshman James Santoro (Tewksbury, N.J.) had a pair of assists. Sophomore Luke Giani (Henderson, Nev.) won 17-of-20 at the X and scooped up a game-high 10 ground balls. Heatzig also caused three turnovers.
Coakley finished with a team-high three points, coming on a goal and two assists while Buck and Tomaszek each found the back of the net twice. Sophomore Anthony D'Avolio (Reading, Mass.) and senior Jeff Gore (Salem, N.H.) each scooped up six ground balls.
Freshman Lukas Drexler-Bruce (Denver, Colo.) made 23 saves for MIT while sophomore Randy Ryan (Clifton, N.J.) made 16 saves for the Leopards. MIT had advantages in shots (39-35) and ground balls (36-29).
Wentworth hosts Wheaton on Saturday at Noon.
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