Men’s Lacrosse Tops Johnson & Wales, 10-5

Nicky Rodrigo (Photo Courtesy of Jeff Melnik)
Nicky Rodrigo (Photo Courtesy of Jeff Melnik)

WESTON, Mass. – Nicky Rodrigo (Miami, Fla.) delivered a hat trick, Danny Rancano (Miami, Fla.) and Calvin Brault (Colchester, Vt.) added two more and the Regis College men's lacrosse team powered past Johnson & Wales 10-5 in a non-conference contest Saturday at Regis Stadium. The Pride improve to 6-3 on the season with Johnson & Wales dropping to 5-5.

The Wildcats led by a goal after the first quarter but only managed one in the second half as Regis pulled away in the fourth quarter. Eric Russo (West Grove, Pa.) and Carter Lyle (North Kingstown, R.I.) provided the offense for JWU, each netting two goals. Alex Ferran (Miami, Fla.) and Andrew O'Reilly (Hollis, N.H.) added a pair of assists for the Pride.

Rodrigo got the scoring started less than four minutes into the game. Lyle and Russo answered for the Wildcats who would take their only lead of the match at 2-1. JC Guido (Miller Place, N.Y.) made a pair of quality saves in net to keep JWU up a goal after the first period.

Brault's second-quarter goal evened the game then he gave the Pride the lead after bouncing his shot into the left corner. The teams would trade goals and finished the second period deadlocked at 4-4.

Pride goalie D.J. Barrile was on point in the second half, surrendering just one goal en route to finishing with 16 saves in the afternoon. Julian Bandereck's (Topsfield, Mass.) goal with 1:54 remaining in the third quarter was the only JWU shot that would sneak past Barrile after halftime.

Rodrigo opened the third quarter with a goal then fed Rancono for another to push the lead to 7-4 with 2:26 remaining. The lead would grow to 9-5 by the end of the quarter with Regis tacking on one more in the final period to complete the scoring.

The Pride return to action Wednesday, Apr. 6, hosting Mass. Maritime at 5:00 p.m. at Regis Stadium.