BOSTON, Mass. – Sophomore Ben Coakley (Flemington, N.J.) scored a game-high nine points and in the process became the 15th player in program history to score 100 or more career points as the Wentworth Institute of Technology men's lacrosse team wrapped up the regular season on a high note with a 19-9 win over Gordon in Commonwealth Coast Conference play Wednesday night.
With the win the Leopards improve to 6-11 overall and 3-5 in CCC play. By virtue of the 3-5 league record, the Black & Gold will be making its first CCC Tournament appearance since the 2016 season and, as the number seven seed, will be at second-seeded Endicott on Saturday at 1:00 pm in a first-round matchup. The Fighting Scots see their season come to an end with a 3-10 (0-7) record.
Scoring three times in a span of 3:47, Wentworth took a 3-0 lead behind a pair of goals from Jacob Eldred (Goffstown, N.H.) and a single marker from freshman Sam Prunier (Hollis, N.H.). Gordon came back to tie the game with three straight in a span of 26 seconds before Coakley ended the run with a goal with 5:14 remaining. Senior Austin Early (Palmyra, Va.) evened the score with a man-up goal with 3:34 remaining.
With 2:20 remaining in the opening frame, Eldred scored his third of the quarter which started a 9-0 run that extended into the second half. Coakley assisted on a junior Kyle Doner (Lindenhurst, N.Y.) goal for his 100th career point with 5:13 left in the second quarter and he joined Doner as Leopards who achieved that milestone this season. Coakley had five points during the run as nine different players scored goals, including senior Nick Arcario (Norwalk, Conn.) who netted his first career marker.
The Fighting Scots broke a scoreless drought of nearly 26 minutes when sophomore Xander Miller (Shelburne, Vt.) scored. Prunier quickly answered to start a 3-0 spurt which extended the lead to 16-5. Gordon scored three of the final four goals in the quarter to cut the lead to 17-8.
Gordon senior Nick Tozier (Winston Salem, N.C.) scored at the 11:25 mark of the final quarter, however, Wentworth scored twice late with goals coming from sophomore Andrew DiPalma (West Orange, N.Y.) and freshman Calvin McKenna (Seattle, Wash.).
Coakley's nine points came on three goals and six assists while Eldred chipped in with four goals and an assist. Prunier scored three times, Doner had two goals and an assist, and DiPalma had a pair of goals. Junior Tom Rockwell (Andover, Mass.) set a program record with 21 faceoff wins as he was 21-of-27 at the X and scooped up 10 ground balls. Prunier and senior Kilian Ryan (Saranac Lake, N.Y.) each caused two turnovers.
Early scored four points on two goals and two assists while Tozier had two goals and an assist for the Fighting Scots.
Sophomore Randy Ryan (Clinton, N.J.) made 13 saves in the win while junior Jay Gallipo (Dover, N.H.) made 18 stops in defeat. Wentworth had advantages in shots (60-43) and ground balls (51-33) and was also successful on 20-of-27 clearing attempts.
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