Box Score

GORHAM, Maine -- The University of New England men's lacrosse team scored all five goals recorded in the third period to turn around a two-goal halftime deficit into a lead, on its way to a 7-5 victory over the University of Southern Maine in a non-conference matchup Tuesday afternoon at Hannaford Field.

Trailing 3-1 at the half, the Nor'easters needed a span of only 4:10 late in the next frame to wipe away the USM cushion and establish a 6-3 edge of their own. Senior Mike Pennacchio (Peabody, Mass.) tallied the last two in the stretch for Big Blue -- both on the man-advantage.

Southern Maine notched one early in the fourth, and pulled within one (6-5) at the 4:34 mark, but UNE senior Dylan Thomas (Mount Pleasant, N.Y.) found younger brother Tyler Thomas right in front 38 seconds later to provide the visitors with some breathing room heading into the final minutes.

The Nor'easters now stand at 3-0 on the young season -- their best start in program history -- and have defeated the Huskies in six of the last seven meetings between the teams. The contest was the first of the season for USM (0-1).

Pennacchio had his first three goals of the year in the game and Tyler Thomas posted three points (2 goals, 1 assist), as did sophomore Dan O'Gorman (Putnam Valley, N.Y.), with three assists to go with a game-high six ground balls.

USM's Steve Ribero scored the first of his two goals to start the day 5:32 into the first, and, after UNE tied things at 1-1 less than a minute later, the hosts tacked on two more to lead 3-1 with 15 minutes gone.

The Huskies and goalie Kyle Dussault kept their opponents off the board in the second stanza, despite facing five man-down situations. Dussault made six of his 17 saves in the quarter to keep the margin at 3-1 heading into halftime.

Big Blue senior Nate Porter (Cohasset, Mass.) shutout USM against one shot on goal in the second, and then stopped all five shots that came his way in the third as UNE took control. The Nor'easters out-shot the Huskies 14-7 in the period, and 42-27 in the match. Porter ended with 10 saves.

UNE is back in action on Saturday with a home date against Plymouth State University (1 p.m.). USM plays Saint Joseph's College on Thursday at Memorial Field in Portland.


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