Box Score

BOSTON, Mass. -- The University of New England men's lacrosse team scored three times in a matter of 2:26 late in the third period to break away from a 2-2 game en route to a 7-3 Commonwealth Coast Conference (CCC) victory over Wentworth Institute of Technology Wednesday evening (Mar. 28) at Sweeney Field.

UNE (6-4, 1-1 CCC) has now defeated the Leopards (1-4, 0-1 CCC) in back-to-back seasons after dropping the first 12 meetings between the teams.

Sophomore Nick Gross (Kennebunk, Maine) recorded three goals and one assist to pace the Nor'easters, and senior Mike Pennacchio (Peabody, Mass.) added one and one.

Big Blue never trailed in the contest, as Gross put the visitors in front early with the only score of the initial period. Wentworth sophomore Steve Glover (Marston Mills, Mass.) sandwiched two markers around a goal by UNE senior Dylan Thomas (Mount Pleasant, N.Y.) to make it 2-all at halftime.

It wasn't until the 3:35 mark of the third frame that the Nor'easters moved ahead for good. First-year Shamus Higginbottom (New Milford, Conn.), Pennacchio, and junior Tyler Thomas (Mount Pleasant, N.Y.) each found the back of the cage in short order to establish a 5-2 lead heading into the final stanza.

Gross tacked on two more early in the fourth to increase the gap to five (7-2), before Leopards junior Mark Pappas (Worcester, Mass.) completed the scoring.

Sophomore Dan O'Gorman (Putnam Valley, N.Y.) controlled play at the center X, winning 10 of 13 face-offs and scooping up a game-high nine ground balls. Senior Nate Porter (Cohasset, Mass.) made eight saves for UNE, which out-shot the hosts by a 35-20 margin.

Seniors Chuck Dowd (Abington, Mass.) and Nick Peter (Queenstown, Md.) were each credited with four caused turnovers to help lead the stingy defensive effort.

For Wentworth, junior Jared Proulx (Nashua, N.H.) turned away 10 shots in between the pipes. The Leopards head to Nichols College on Saturday.

Big Blue returns to action the same day with the seventh stop on its eight-game road trip -- a date at Roger Williams University (3:30 p.m.).