Prunier's Six-Point Night Leads Men's Lacrosse as Leopards Win Overtime Thriller at Curry

MILTON, Mass. – The Wentworth Institute of Technology men's lacrosse team rebounded with a victory after Saturday's defeat, as the Leopards picked up a 13-12 overtime victory at Curry College Wednesday, April 13 in Commonwealth Coast Conference (CCC) play.

 
RECORDS 

• Wentworth: 7-4, 3-1 CCC
• Curry: 3-10, 0-5 CCC

INSIDE THE BOX SCORE 

• Goals Leader: Sam Prunier, Jared Hiller (3)
• Assists Leader: Sam Prunier (3)
• Caused Turnovers Leader: Danny Bartosiewicz (4)
• Ground Balls Leader: Danny Bartosiewicz (6)
• Saves: Jack Munroe (16)

HOW IT HAPPENED 

• The Leopards got four shots off in the first two minutes of the game, but were turned aside each time despite the strong start. Over the next several minutes, Curry was able to get a few shots of their own, but senior goalkeeper Jack Munroe (Mansfield, Mass.), who made 16 saves on the night, kept the Colonels off the board as the game remained scoreless. Shortly after the midway point of the opening quarter, Wentworth scored the first goal of the game courtesy of freshman attack Jared Hiller (North Andover, Mass.), who scored his 12^th of the season off an assist by senior attack Sam Prunier (Hollis, N.H.). But just 40 seconds after the Leopard goal, the Colonels evened the scored at one as Nick Perfetuo (Norwell, Mass.) scored the equalizer with 6:48 remaining. After Munroe made two more saves following the Curry goal, Wentworth took the lead back as junior midfielder Calvin McKenna (Lake Tapps, Wash.) scored to put the visitors ahead by one, with Prunier again providing the assist. The Colonels took a penalty late in the period, and the Leopards capitalized to go ahead 3-1. Sophomore attack Logan Maklan (Boca Raton, Fla) scored with 42 seconds remaining in the first period, as Prunier added another assist to give Wentworth a two-goal lead after one.
• The home team picked up a goal early in the second quarter, scoring at the 1:23 mark to bring it back to a one-goal game. Curry took another penalty after the goal as the visitors went on the man-advantage, but Wentworth was unable to build upon their lead as Curry killed it off. After a pair of Leopard shot attempts went wide, Curry came back to tie it at 3-3 with six minutes gone by in the second. The Leopards then took a pair of penalties, finding themselves down two players, and the Colonels took advantage to score their third straight goal and jump on top. Curry kept the pressure on, getting three more shot attempts off following the goal as they looked to build on their lead. But the Leopards were able to hold off the Curry push, and Prunier scored moments later to tie the game with five minutes left in the second. The Colonels scored just 20 seconds following the goal to take the lead back, but Prunier's second of the night it with 55 seconds left. Curry took control following the ensuing faceoff, and put in the go-ahead goal with 29 seconds on the clock as Connor Bryant (Methuen, Mass.) put the Colonels in front 6-5 at the half.
• A pair of Curry shots missed the mark early in the third, and Wentworth came back with a trio of shots, the last coming off the stick of senior midfielder Erik Madden (Center Tuftonboro, N.H) to tie the game at six. Just 22 seconds later, Prunier scored his third to put Wentworth ahead once again, coming off an assist by sophomore attack Drew Bouley (Gloucester, Mass.). After a pair of turnovers from each squad, freshman attack Erik Vogt (Warwick, N.Y.) gave the Leopards a two-goal lead with his 10^th of the year, making it an 8-6 game in favor of the visitors with five minutes gone by. Curry got one back just over a minute later, as Bryant scored his second to cut the lead to one goal. The teams continued to go back and forth, with freshman defenseman Jake Rocchio (Port Jefferson Station, N.Y.) scoring the first goal of his collegiate career just 18 seconds after the Colonels had cut the lead to one. The home team responded once again, however, as 47 seconds after Rocchio's goal, Stephen Stackhouse (Hopewell Junction, N.Y.) put one in for the home team, making it a 9-8 score in favor of Wentworth. The Leopards got multiple shots on goal over the next several minutes, but were denied each time. They finally broke through with 1:49 remaining, as Hiller scored once again to make it 10-8. Then with time winding down in the third, Hiller picked up his third of the game, scoring with just two seconds remaining to extend the lead to three goals heading into the fourth.
• Wentworth continued to pick up the offense to start the fourth, with McKenna getting on the board early in the period to make it three straight for the Leopards. However, Curry struck back quickly, putting in a pair of goals in a 1:29 span to cut the lead to one. Just over a minute later, the Colonels pulled within a goal as Pat Modoono (Billerica, Mass.) scored his second consecutive goal to narrow it to a 12-11 score. McKenna rang a shot off the post shortly after the second Modoono goal, as the Leopards were unsuccessful in pushing the lead back to two. Then with 5:11 left in the fourth, Curry scored their fourth straight to tie it at 12, as Perfetuo scored his second of the night to even the score. Munroe then made two saves following the goal, keeping the Colonels from taking the lead late. After Wentworth sent a few shots wide, the teams ended the fourth quarter tied, sending the game to sudden-death overtime.
• The Leopards won the opening faceoff in overtime and never surrendered possession. McKenna started with the ball and sent a pass in front to Madden, who fired a shot past the Curry goalkeeper to score his second goal of the night and give Wentworth a 13-12 overtime victory.

NOTES

• The Leopards had 47 shots to Curry's 48, and the Colonels won the ground ball battle 34-25.
• Curry won in the faceoff circle 18-8, and the Leopards converted 18 of 24 clears while the Colonels were 13 of 16.

THE SERIES

• This was the 25^th time the two programs have met, with the Leopards leading the all-time series 18-7.

NEXT 

• Wentworth is back on the road Saturday, April 16, as the Leopards travel to Bristol, R.I. for a 12:00 p.m. game at Roger Williams University.

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