By Matt Noonan
It was a busy, but important Saturday for a lot of local teams that’re trying to secure spots for the upcoming conference tournaments and below is our roundup.
Men’s Lacrosse:
Harvard 8, No. 14 Penn 7 (OT) – Murphy Vandervelde netted the game-winner 1:18 into overtime on a man-up to provide the Crimson their second consecutive win of the week. Vandervelde led all scorers with a hat trick, while Devin Dwyer finished with four points (one goals, three assists). With the win, Harvard improves to 6-6 overall and 2-2 in Ivy League play.
No. 4 Merrimack 13, Pace 6 – Corey Lunney finished the contest with seven points (four goals, three assists) as the Warriors cruised to their eighth consecutive victory. Lunney’s seven points matches his effort from last weekend against Souther New Hampshire.
No. 4 Tufts 12, Amherst 8 – Beau Wood jumpstarted a 7-0 run at 6:44 in the first, which provided the Jumbos with the lead for good as Tufts topped Amherst and improved to 11-1 against the Lord Jeffs over the last 10 years. First-year Garrett Clarke netted his first collegiate strike at 11:50 in the fourth.
Endicott 15, Roger Williams 9 – Trailing the visiting Hawks, 7-6, at the break, the Gulls rallied to outscore the visitors, 9-2, during the final 30 minutes to secure their 10th win of the season. Harrison Cotter registered a team-best three tallies, while Jonathan Morgan and Chris Murphy each netted two goals.
UMass Boston 8, UMass Dartmouth 7 (OT) – Ryan McGoff scored seven seconds into the extra session as the Beacons defeated the Corsairs and earned their first Little East Conference win. Dom Fichera paced UMass Boston with five tallies, while UMass Dartmouth’s Adam Niden finished with a hat trick.
Women’s Lacrosse:
No. 16 Princeton 11, Harvard 9 – Micaela Cyr registered a hat trick and one helper, but that wasn’t enough to lift the Crimson past the Tigers.
No. 1 LIU Post 15, No. 11 Stonehill 12 – The defending NCAA Division II champions fended off a second half rally by the Skyhawks to claim their 10th win of the season. Heather Sullivan recorded five goals in the setback, while Ashley Armstrong deflected 12 shots between the pipes.
Wheaton 10, Mount Holyoke 9 – Brooke Sabol recorded a season-best four goals, while Charlotte De Santis and Melanie Sharick each netted hat tricks as the Lyons earned their fifth conference win of the season.
No. 10 Amherst 6, No. 17 Tufts 5 – Marta Randall scored the game-winning strike with 13 seconds remaining to lift the visiting Lord Jeffs to victory. Caroline Ross led the Jumbos with two tallies.
Western New England 19, University of New England 18 – Taylor Scialdone registered a game-best nine points (six goals, three assists) as the Golden Bears edged the Nor’Easters in Springfield.
