WESTON, Mass. - Seemingly playing from behind the entire evening, Regis College pulled ahead in the fourth quarter and held on to defeat Anna Maria College, 7-6, Wednesday night in a Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) men's collegiate lacrosse match at Regis Stadium.
Down 5-1 one-and-a-half minutes into the second half, the Pride started their rally four minutes into the third quarter on a goal by Jack Jaynes (Reading, Mass.). Less than two-and-a-half minutes later, Matt Cabassa (Weymouth, Mass.) scored an unassisted goal, and later Jaynes found Brendan Cook (Billerica, Mass.) in front of the net to pull Regis within one goal at 5-4 with 3:36 left in the third period.
Anna Maria extended its lead back to two goals just 53 seconds later as Spencer Carpenter completed his hat trick. As the period wound down to the final minute, Anthony Marsella (Johnston, R.I.) fought through the AMCAT defense and scored his 12th goal of the season to close the Pride deficit back to one goal at 6-5 heading into the fourth quarter.
The AMCATS created a few chances to increase their lead again but could not convert on any of their scoring opportunities, highlighted by a Carpenter shot that hit the post midway through the period. As the clock ticked under five minutes, Marsella fed Jaynes for his second goal of the match to tie the contest at 6-6.
Frustrated by another missed opportunity on its ensuing possession, Anna Maria was called for a delay of game penalty. Just as the penalty time expired, Nick Klein (Buxton, Maine) blasted a shot into the net off an assist from Marsella for the go-ahead goal with 2:59 remaining in regulation. The AMCATS gained possession on the next faceoff and kept shooting the ball, but Regis goalie Devin Hammon (Chicopee, Mass.) stopped consecutive shots by Aiden Foster and Carpenter to keep the Pride on top the rest of the way.
Hammon finished with 15 saves on a .714 save percentage as Anna Maria ended up with a 21-14 advantage in shots on goal. Nathan Powers went 14-for-17 on faceoffs as he collected seven groundballs while Liam Bedenkop led all players with 10 groundballs and three caused turnovers.
Foster started the scoring for the AMCATS early in the first quarter, followed by Carpenter's first goal of the match with 9:05 left in the period. Liam Donovan (Lynn, Mass.) put the Pride on the board, but goals by Naje Wray and Carpenter just about a minute apart late in the period allowed Anna Maria to pull ahead, 4-1. Neither team scored in the second quarter as Hammon made six saves in the period while Caden Rakes was credited with two of his seven saves.
Regis College (5-2, 1-2 GNAC) heads to Waterville, Maine, to face Thomas College Saturday, March 30, starting at 1 p.m. Anna Maria College (1-9, 0-4 GNAC) travels to face Elms College next Wednesday, April 3, beginning at 7 p.m.