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Wednesday, March 5, 2008
THIRD PERIOD DOOMS M-LACROSSE IN 14-8 LOSS TO RPI
In debut of head coach Justin Axel, Warriors are outscored 5-0 in third period
TROY, N.Y. – Trailing by one goal at halftime, men’s lacrosse was outshot and outscored decisively in the third period as RPI pulled away for a 14-8 victory in the debut of first-year Warrior coach Justin Axel Wednesday afternoon at Harkness Field.
Eastern was shut out in the third period by RPI (1-1), which scored five goals by utilizing a 21-1 advantage in shots. Three of the goals came in a span of three minutes as the Red Hawks broke from a 7-6 halftime edge.
The match marked the head coaching debut of Axel, who helped Salisbury University to four national championships during his six-year tenure with the Sea Gulls. RPI, under the direction of Salisbury alumnus Jim Townsend, was coming off a 12-6 loss to No. 16 nationally-ranked Endicott College Saturday at Harkness Field.
The match was only the second between the programs – the first since the Red Hawks escaped with a 20-19 victory over visiting Eastern’s fourth-year program in 1999.
Trailing 6-3 Wednesday, Eastern scored three of the final four goals of the first half. Senior midfielder Pete Hamilton (Rutland, VT), and junior attack Matthew Savage (Southington) scored a minute apart to cut the deficit to one goal, 6-5. After the Red Hawks scored to make it a two-goal RPI advantage, the Warriors weathered a flurry of five straight RPI shots, finally forcing a turnover and responding with a goal by senior attack Tyler Prescott (Norwalk) with three minutes left to make it 7-6. The Warriors successfully killed an extra-man opportunity by RPI soon after Prescott’s goal and survived four Red Hawk shots the rest of the way to keep the deficit at one heading into the half.
RPI owned the decisive third period, however. The Warriors turned the ball over six times before taking their only shot of the period midway through the 15-minute session. By that time, RPI had gotten a pair from sophomore Devin Arnold and one from senior Briggs Thompson for a 10-6 lead.
Prescott, Hamilton and junior midfielder DJ Simmons (Mystic) each had two goals for Eastern, which was outshot 49-30. Freshman Brendan Hoppey (Shoreham, NY) had an assist to earn credit for his first collegiate point. Freshman Eric Vasil (Southington) and first-year sophomore transfer Antonio Perretta (Hamden) split faceoff duties, with Perretta winning five of nine and Vasil seven of 17.
Making his 35th consecutive start, Eastern junior goalie Kyle Savage (Southington) stopped 12 RPI shots.RPI’s Angelo Luppino, a 5-foot-10 inch, 245 pound freshman, made seven saves over the first half to gain the win in net. Sophomore Ryan DeJordy stopped five shots and allowed only two goals over the final 30 minutes.
A possible momentum-changing play occurred in the opening minutes of the game, when Simmons was tagged with a three-minute unreleasable penalty for an illegal stick after scoring what appeared to be a game-tying goal. The goal was negated – keeping intact RPI’s early 1-0 lead – and the hosts were rewarded with a three-minute man-up opportunity. In that stretch, the Red Hawks unloaded five shots on goal. Savage saved three of them, but one found the back of the net that gave the hosts a two-goal edge from which the Warriors were never able to completely recover.
RPI scored on three of its five extra-man opportunities which gave them a 2-0 lead six minutes into play, a 6-3 advantage six minutes into the second period, and which closed out the scoring with three minutes left. The hosts allowed Eastern only three man-up tries, with Simmons recording the team’s one goal in that situation early in the fourth period.
Although the Warriors were outshot by 19, they collected only four less ground balls, won nearly half of the faceoffs, and turned the ball over only one more time than the Red Hawks.
Simmons collected six of Eastern’s 27 ground balls and took a third of its shots.
Eastern visits Lasell College Saturday at 1 p.m.
RPI 14, Eastern Conn. 8
Eastern Conn. (0-1) 2 4 0 2 -- 8
RPI (1-1) 5 2 5 2 -- 14
Goals: E-Tyler Prescott 2, DJ Simmons 2, Pete Hamilton 2, Maxim Fantl, Matthew Savage. R-Devin Arnold 5, Mike Sampson 2, Briggs Thompson 2, PJ McComb, Alex MacDiarmid, Josh Secora, Ryan Bigham, Conor Chicheles.
Assists: E-M. Brendan Hoppey, Eric Vasil, M. Savage, Simmons, Fantl. R-Nicky Billy 2, McComb 2.
Shots: E-30, R-49.
Saves: E-Kyle Savage 12; R-Angelo Luppino 7 (30:00 min., 6 goals allowed), Ryan DeJordy 5 (30:00, 2).
