WESTON, Mass. – Regis College defeated Daniel Webster College, 23-8, in a New England Collegiate Conference men's lacrosse game on a cold and rainy Wednesday night in Weston, Mass. The Pride improves to 8-2 overall and 1-0 in the NECC, while the Eagles fall to 4-5 and 0-2 in league games.
Calvin Brault (Colchester, Vt.) scored seven goals and dished out three assists on the way to a 10 point day to lead the Pride. Peter Leighton (Wilmington, Mass.) scored twice and added six assists, while Nicky Rodrigo (Miami, Fla.) scored four goals and had one assist. Grant Nordlund (Miami, Fla.) recorded a hat-trick and handed out three assists as well.
Daniel Webster was led by four goals and an assist from Storm Adams (Akwesanse, Quebec). Anthony Cotoni (Groton, Mass.) scored a hat-trick and handed out two assists, while Dan Knupfer (Corfu, N.Y.) rounded out the scoring with a goal and an assist.
Regis opened the scoring on the day as Leighton found Brault from behind the net to put the Pride on top 1-0. Storm Adams answered at the 7:26 mark of the first quarter as the Eagles got out on the fast break and Adams received a pass from Cotoni and squeezed the ball near post to tie the game at 1-1. Just under a minute later, Cotoni entered the scoring column and gave the Eagles a 2-1 lead when he buried a shot from 12 yards out. Jack O'Brien (Milton, Mass.) made sure the two teams entered the second quarter at 2-2 as the junior won the ensuing face-off, scooped up the groundball, and fired a shot opposite post for the equalizer.
Brault and Leighton combined for the first goal of the second quarter in a similar fashion to their first score, but DWC answered right back with Cotoni scoring off an Adams feed after some nifty passing from the Eagles. The Pride would end the half scoring eight of the final nine goals in the frame to take an 11-4 lead into the break. Nordlund and Rodrigo would each score twice during the run, while Brault tallied three goals. Leighton added the other score for Regis, with Storm Adams scoring in the final minute for the Eagles.
The Pride dominated play in the third quarter, outscoring the Eagles 10-1 in the stanza to put the game away. Brault and Rodrigo each added two more, with A.J. Karofsky (Barrington, R.I.) netting a pair and Leighton, Nordlund, Danny Rancano (Miami, Fla.), and Nick Dallas (Huntington Beach, Calif.) adding scores. Knupfer tallied the lone goal of the period for Daniel Webster.
Collin Spillane (Franklin, Mass.) opened the fourth quarter with a score before Jake Halloran (Medway, Mass.) scored his first career goal for Regis. DWC ended the game with the final three scores with two coming off the stick of Adams and Cotoni adding another for the final score of 23-8.
Regis outshot the Eagles at a 63-20 clip and held a 64-17 advantage in groundballs. The Pride committed 21 turnovers compared to 25 for Daniel Webster, with both teams efficient on clears as Regis went 11-for-17 compared to a 12-for-19 showing for DWC. The Pride won 26-of-34 face-offs as Jack O'Brien went 20-of-23 and Brandon Mehler (Bay Shore, N.Y.) was 6-of-10.
O'Brien led the Pride defense with a game-high 11 groundballs, while Andrew O'Reilly (Hollis, N.H.) had eight of his own to go with an assist. Nick Dallas had six groundballs and four caused turnovers and Nick Romig (Dedham, Mass.) added five groundballs and a pair of caused turnovers as well. Tyler Estes (Geneva, Ill.) made five saves in the victory.
Anthony Cotoni led Daniel Webster with a pair of groundballs and three caused turnovers. Matt Capozzi (Wilmington, Mass.) and Tommy Hanley (Syracuse, N.Y.) had two caused turnovers apiece. Curtis Larade (Merrimack, N.H.) suffered the setback despite making 19 saves on the day.
The Crimson and Gold return to action on Friday night when they host Mount Ida College in a 4:00 p.m. non-league matchup. Daniel Webster will travel to Lyndon State College on Monday in a 3:30 p.m. game.