Box Score

BIDDEFORD, Maine -- Sophomore Tyler Thomas (Mount Pleasant, N.Y.) had a hand in three consecutive goals for the University of New England that closed out the third period and began the fourth as the Nor'easters broke out of a 9-9 tie on the way to a 13-10 non-conference men's lacrosse victory over Wheaton College (Mass.) Thursday evening at the Big Blue Turf.

After the Lyons rallied with the initial four scores of the third frame to level the contest at the 10:40 mark of the period, neither team registered a goal for the ensuing 10 minutes of action. Thomas ended the scoreless stretch with 20 seconds to go in the stanza off a pass from junior Michael Pennacchio (Peabody, Mass.), putting hosts in front for good.

Thomas set-up first-year Dan O'Gorman (Putnam Valley, N.Y.) 1:38 into the final period to double the margin to 11-9, then scored an unassisted marker 35 seconds later to make the difference three (12-9).

Wheaton senior Chris Landers (Manchester, Mass.) recorded his third goal of the game with a little over eight minutes left to draw the visitors closer, but several key saves from UNE junior goalie Nate Porter (Cohasset, Mass.) and late tally from first-year Nick Gross (Kennebunk, Maine) helped preserve the decision.

Thomas finished with eight points on the night, behind a season-high five goals and three assists. Pennacchio added three goals and an assist, while O'Gorman had two and two, along with nine face-off wins out of 14 tries.

Porter backstopped the Nor'easters (4-6) with a season-best 16 saves.

For the Lyons, Landers also notched a pair of assists to end with a team-high five points. Junior Billy McNamara (Mansfield, Mass.) contributed three scores, and senior Ben Cederberg (Duxbury, Mass.) chipped in with two markers.

Rookie goalie Jesse O'Neil (Charlestown, Mass.) turned aside seven shots for Wheaton (1-5), which held advantages in shots (39-30) and ground balls (42-33) for the game.

In the early going, the teams traded scores throughout the first quarter, to where UNE assumed a 3-2 edge after 15 minutes. Senior Michael Woods (Kittery Point, Maine) provided that margin, scoring a man-down goal with one second on the clock.

The momentum from that tally carried right into the second frame, as Big Blue reeled off three more goals to gain a cushion of four (6-2). Both squads found the back of the cage three times in the last 11 minutes before halftime as the Nor'easters sat on a 9-5 lead at the break.

UNE resumes TCCC play on Saturday with a road contest at Nichols College. Wheaton is back in action the same day, kicking-off the Pilgrim League season at home against Massachusetts Maritime Academy.