Box Score

(portions of the story courtesy Nichols College)

DUDLEY, Mass. – The University of New England men's lacrosse team established a school single-season record with its sixth win, and in the process earned its first The Commonwealth Coast Conference Tournament appearance with a 13-8 victory over Nichols College Saturday at Vendetti Field. 

The Nor'easters (6-9) are seeded eighth for the TCCC Championship and will head to Springfield, Mass. to face top-seeded Western New England College in an opening-round game Tuesday.  Unofficial start time is 7:00 p.m., pending approval of the TCCC Office.

Luke DiFiore (Gloucester, Mass.) and Michael Pannacchio (Peabody, Mass.) led UNE with four points on three goals and an assist, while Dan Leyden (Northfield, Mass.) picked up three points with two goals an assist.  

Tim Ahern (Boca Raton, Fla.) paced the Bison with four points on three goals and an assist, while Ryan Pacific (Danbury, Conn.) added a goal and a pair of assists for three points.

Pennacchio put the visiting team up first at 12:18 of the opening quarter, but Ahern knotted the game less than two minutes later.

Brian Gattie (Plainfield, N.H.) gave the Bison the lead with just under four minutes to play in the opening frame, but it was the last time Nichols would hold the lead in the game as the Nor'easters rattled off two-straight goals to end the quarter and the Bison were forced to play catch-up for the rest of the game.

DiFiore and Steve Smith (Walpole, Mass.) gave UNE a 5-3 lead with goals to open the second quarter before Bison scores from Pacific and Michael Farragher (Worcester, Mass.) brought the home team within one with 4:20 left in the quarter. Leyden struck with just 37 seconds left in the second to give UNE a two-goal cushion, 6-4, headed into halftime.

Ahern scored early into the second half and then fed Garrett Hill (Braintree, Mass) on a transition play to knot the game with 5:13 left in the third quarter, but the Nor'easters scored three-straight goals to take a 9-6 lead.

Nichols goalkeeper Scott Gray (Annapolis, Md.) brought the ball all the way downfield to feed Pete Cramer (Hanover, Mass.) with 23 seconds left to bring the Bison within two at 7-9, and Ahern opened the final quarter with his third goal of the day, but the Nor'easters struck four times in the final five minutes to put the game out of reach.

Smith recorded a man-up tally at 5:39 and 15 seconds later DiFiore connected with Thomas for an 11-8 lead. Pennacchio and DiFiore capped the scoring for the five-goal victory.

Gray made 24 saves in the loss, while UNE starter Nate Porter (Cohasset, Mass.) stopped 12 shots in 57 minutes of action before giving way to Andy Briggs (Scituate, R.I.) for the final three minutes. Briggs made four saves.