BOSTON, Mass. – Freshman Mark Pappas' (Worcester, Mass.) goal with 4:56 left snapped a 6-all tie and freshman Jared Proulx (Nashua, N.H.) made a save on a game-tying shot attempt with 15 seconds left as the Wentworth men's lacrosse team rallied to take an 8-7 win over Anna Maria in a The Commonwealth Coast Conference contest played at Sweeney Field.
The visiting AMCATS got on the board first when junior Luke Biggins (Sudbury, Mass.) tallied 2:02 into the contest. Forty-nine seconds later the Leopards knotted the score with a goal from freshman Mike Sharpe (Needham, Mass.) and with 6:16 remaining Wentworth took a 2-1 lead on a freshman Patrick Helfrich (North Andover, Mass.) marker. The lead would hold until Biggins notched his 24th tally of the season with 4:27 remaining to tie the game.
Neither team scored in the second quarter, but just 12 seconds into the second half Sharpe put the Leopards up by a 3-2 score, Sophomore Brad Peterson (North Kingstown, R.I.) scored Anna Maria's next two goals, coming over a span of 2:01, to give the AMCATS a 4-3 lead. Sharpe tied the game with 3:40 left but freshman Matt Lochner (Lima, N.Y.) scored 24 seconds later to give Anna Maria a 5-4 lead after 45:00 of play.
Freshman Chris Summers (Morris, N.J.) increased the lead to 6-4, 30 seconds into the final stanza, but, on the ensuing possession after the face-off, Sharpe pulled Wentworth within one and, just 13 seconds later, senior Jeff Novak (Killingworth, Conn.) tied the game at 6-all.
After Pappas tallied the go-ahead goal, sophomore Mike Swenson (East Lyme, Conn.) won the ensuing face-off and fed Sharpe, who scored 10 seconds later to give the Leopards an 8-6 lead. Anna Maria pulled within one after a Lochner goal with 3:39 left and would have an extra-man opportunity with 1:45 remaining. Wentworth's defense allowed just one shot to successfully kill the penalty, but the AMCATS called a time out with possession with 23 seconds left. Biggins had a clear shot with 15 ticks left, but Proulx made a stick save to preserve the win.
Proulx made 16 saves over the final 52:56 to pick up the win. Anna Maria freshman Andrew Ellis (Fitchburg, Mass.) made 15 saves in the loss. The AMCATS held a 40-35 advantage in shots, while the Leopards held a 52-42 ground ball advantage and won the battle in the face-off X, 13-5.
With the win Wentworth improves to 3-4 overall and 2-3 in TCCC play. The Leopards host Becker on Saturday. Anna Maria falls to 4-6 (0-4) and hosts New England College next Thursday.
