Curt Smyth

Huge 4th quarter carries UNE to 13-11 win over MIT


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CAMBRIDGE, Mass. -- Trailing 11-8 with less than six minutes to play, the University of New England men's lacrosse team reeled off five straight goals to rally for a thrilling 13-11 victory over MIT in a non-conference game Saturday afternoon (March 15) at Roberts Field.

Winners of three of their last four games, the Nor'easters climbed back to the .500 mark at 3-3. The Engineers (2-1) dropped their first decision in three outings.

Just as it appeared MIT would remain unbeaten on the season, the Nor'easters came storming back. Senior Patrick Wolfe scored a man-up goal to pull UNE within two (11-9) at the 5:15 mark, then junior Pat Reid followed with a nifty over-the-shoulder marker to close the gap to one. Sophomore Sam Cloutier notched the equalizer with 3:22 remaining. Just 11 seconds later, Wolfe tallied the game-winner, and senior Mike Allan provided an insurance goal with 13 seconds left.

Wolfe finished with four goals to lead the Big Blue attack. He added a pair of assists to register a six-point afternoon. Allan, Cloutier and first-year Dan Auger scored two goals apiece for the Nor'easters, while senior Dan O'Gorman went 9-for-13 on the draw and scooped up a match-high nine ground balls.

Luke Verdi and Chris Cook notched three goals apiece to lead the way for MIT. Cody Jacobucci came up with seven groundballs.

Sophomore John Dusel earned the win with nine saves for the Nor'easters, while his counterpart, Eric Bartell, made 12 stops for the Engineers.

UNE is headed south for its Spring Break trip. The Nor'easters will take on Western Connecticut State University on Tuesday (March 18) in a neutral-site game to be played at Meadowood Regional Park in Lutherville-Timonium, Md. On the way back to Maine, Big Blue will stop at Eastern Connecticut State University for a game Thursday (March 20).


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