CAMBRIDGE, Mass. – A balanced attack that saw 11 players record at least one point helped propel MIT to a 17-2 victory over Regis College in a Pilgrim Lacrosse League game on Wednesday evening. Freshman Luke Verdi (Middletown, Md.) produced a game-high four points for the Engineers (3-8, 1-2 Pilgrim) on two goals and two assists.
Sophomore Nick Dallas (Huntington Beach, Calif.) and freshman Nicky Rodrigo (Miami, Fla.) generated the offense for the Pride, who fall to 4-9 on the year and 0-4 in conference action.
The majority of the first quarter was a back-and-forth affair as both sides struggled to find an offensive rhythm. MIT ended the stalemate when sophomore Jake Slonaker (West Windsor, N.J.) corralled the groundball following a saved shot and found freshman Graham Francis (Palos Verdes Estates, Calif.) with 4:41 left in the frame. The Engineers then rattled off three goals in the next two minutes as the rally was capped by a solo effort from freshman Ronald Heisser (San Antonio, Texas).
Regis responded with a pair of shots from Rodrigo and one by sophomore Peter Leighton (Wilmington, Mass.), but MIT senior goalie Christopher Rullan (Wexford, Pa.) turned away each attempt.
The Engineers increased their advantage to 5-0 on a shot by freshman Paul Orrson (Baltimore, Md.) after 4:10 elapsed in the second stanza. The margin would hold until midway through the quarter when MIT put together another three-goal burst that concluded on a man-up strike from Orrson with 4:19 remaining before halftime.
After earning the assist on Orrson's final goal, Verdi was a factor in the Engineers' first two goals of the third quarter. He found the back of the net at the 9:34 mark and set up Francis over a minute later. Freshman Alex Seo (Westport, Conn.), who earned an assist on Verdi's goal, quickly extended MIT's lead to 11-0.
A turnover over by the hosts eventually led to the Pride ending the shutout, as Rodrigo redirected a feed from Leighton with 4:02 to go to get Regis on the scoreboard.
The Engineers registered three unanswered goals early in the final frame while a solo effort from Dallas came at the midpoint of the quarter. MIT then generated three goals in a span of 1:11 to close out the night.
Freshman Andrew O'Reilly (Hollis, N.H.) paced Regis with six groundballs while classmate Jack O'Brien (Milton, Mass.) generated five groundballs and two caused turnovers. Junior Chris Campbell (South Hadley, Mass.) went 4-of-7 in faceoffs as senior Andrew Goldberg (Solebury, Pa.) tacked on three groundballs. In net, freshman Morgan Ford (Smyrna, Ga.) registered 10 saves and four ground balls.
For the game, MIT had a 27-18 advantage in shots on goal and a 48-31 margin in groundballs. Both teams split the faceoff victories while the Engineers committed four fewer turnovers than the Pride.
Both squads are on the road for their next games that feature Pilgrim League foes. MIT will visit Massachusetts Maritime Academy on Saturday, April 20, while Regis will make the trip to Babson College on Friday, April 19 for a 5:00 p.m. showdown.
Release courtesy of MIT Sports Information