BOSTON, Mass. – Sophomores Tony Cibelli (Westboro, Mass.) and Donnie Litzelman (Stratham, N.H.) each scored four goals and tallied two assists, as the Emmanuel College men's lacrosse team topped Wentworth Institute of Technology, 14-9, in non-conference action Saturday afternoon on Sweeney Field.
Winners of five in a row, the Saints improve to 7-4 while the Leopards drop their second straight to stand at 6-4.
After a defensive showing by both sides, junior Christ Curtis (Ashland, Mass.) scored first with 8:41 remaining in the opening quarter to put the Saints up 1-0. Litzelman scored consecutive goals to make it 3-0. Cibelli would score to give Emmanuel a four goal lead with 2:10 left before, Leopard freshman Jake Ollila (Goffstown, N.H.) scored Wentworth's first of the game with 1:57 remaining. Junior Michael Rogers (New Haven, Conn.) wrapped up the scoring in the first to give Emmanuel the 5-1 lead.
Cibelli netted his second goal of the game to put the Saints up 6-1 less than two minutes into the second quarter. Senior Ryan Coakley (Flemington, N.J.) scored less than two minutes later to give Wentworth its second goal. Freshman Jared Lucas (Gilford, N.H.) and Litzelman scored to put Emmanuel ahead 8-2 with 2:25 left in the half. Junior Alec Paradis (Pelham, N.H.) scored his 23rd of the year with 24 seconds left, as the Saints led the Leopards 8-3 at the half.
Litzelman scored his fourth of the game to start the second half. However, senior Michael Cushera (Waltham, Mass.) and sophomore Mike Coakley (Flemington, N.J.) each scored to bring the Black and Gold within four at 9-5 with 8:58 left in the quarter. After Curtis scored again for the Saints, Cushera and freshman Kevin Butler (Jefferson, Mass.) each scored, bringing Wentworth within three with 20 seconds left in the third. However, Cibelli scored with two second left to make it 11-7 through 45 minutes.
Junior Justin Kelly (Collegeville, Pa.) joined in on the scoring two minutes into the fourth, and Cibelli scored his fourth to make it 13-7. The Coakley Brothers each scored their second goals of the game in the final five minutes, but Curtis' third at 2:48 ended the game's scoring.
In addition to his six-point afternoon, Cibelli scooped up a game-high nine ground balls. Curtis (three goals) and Rogers (one goal, one assist) also had multiple-point games. At the X, senior Jake Pickett (Stratham, N.H.) won 13-of-26.
Ryan Coakley scored a team-high five points, coming on two goals and three assists. Mike Coakley and Cushera each scored twice while Paradis and Butler had a goal and an assist. Sophomore Ty Trebbe (Wilbraham, Mass.) won 12-of-25 at the X and scooped up a team-high six ground balls.
Senior Austin Lauzier (Bedford, N.H.) made 11 saves in the win while freshman Adam Dufault (Lexington, Mass.) made 13 saves for Wentworth. Emmanuel had a 51-35 shot advantage and a 47-41 edge in ground balls.
Emmanuel hosts Rivier on Wednesday evening in a Great Northeast Athletic Conference contest while Wentworth wraps up its three-game homestand with a Commonwealth Coast Conference match against Nichols, also on Wednesday night.