Tag Archives: NESCAC

May 3 2013

Mass. College Lax: Weekend Conference Tourney Game Times

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By NoontimeSports.com 

It’s a BIG weekend in the college lacrosse world as several teams will be competing in their conference semifinals or championships. Below is this weekend’s schedule, and as always, make sure to circle back for recaps, releases, and roundups.

Men’s Lacrosse: 

* Le Moyne @ Merrimack College, 7 p.m. (Friday) — The winner of this match advances to Sunday’s Northeast-10 Conference championship against Adelphi/St. Michaels. Adelphi is the No. 1 seed in the tournament and would host the championship with a victory against the Purple Knights.

* Babson College @ Springfield College, 1 p.m. (Saturday) — The Beavers and Pride will meet in the Pilgrim League final for the second time in three seasons. Babson defeated Wheaton on Wednesday evening, 14-5, while Springfield beat MIT, 13-4. Springfield rallied past Babson earlier this season for a 13-11 victory, so expect tomorrow’s contest to be a good one.

* Tufts University vs. Conn. College @ Middlebury College, 3 p.m. (Saturday) — The Camels and Jumbos will meet for the second straight year in the NESCAC semifinals, but don’t expect Tufts to down Conn. College like they did last season. The winner advances to Sunday’s final against the winner of Middlebury/Wesleyan.

* Western New England @ Endicott College, 1 p.m. (Saturday)  – The Golden Bears and Gulls will face-off in the Commonwealth Coast Conference championship tomorrow afternoon with the winner earning an automatic bid to the NCAA championship.

Women’s Lacrosse: 

* Stonehill College @ Adelphi, 1:30 p.m. (Saturday) — The Skyhawks will attempt to earn a trip to Sunday’s NE-10 championship against a Panthers team that defeated them earlier this season, 12-5. If Stonehill wins, they’ll face-off against the winner Le Moyne/New Haven.   

* Becker College at Regis College, 1 p.m. (Saturday) — Both the Hawks and Pride earned wins on Wednesday, which provided them spots in this year’s NECC championship. Regis defeated Becker earlier this season, 16-7.

* Endicott @ Western New England, 1 p.m. (Saturday) — Similar to the men’s game, this particular match is for the Commonwealth Coast Conference tournament crown. The Golden Bears defeated the Gulls in their final match of the season, 19-17, so expect another great game tomorrow in Springfield.

* Westfield State @ Bridgewater State, 1 p.m. (Saturday) — The top seeded Bears will look to earn the MASCAC crown against the Owls, who earned a spot in the title match with a 16-4 win against Worcester State last night. Bridgewater has qualified for the NCAA tournament the last three seasons, too.

Apr 27 2013

Mass. College Lax: Saturday Afternoon/Evening Scoreboard

By Matt Noonan 

There were some very important conference games that occurred this afternoon and below is our afternoon and evening roundup.

Men’s Lacrosse 

Yale 11, Harvard 10 - Despite two late tallies each by Ian Ardrey and Jack Walker, the Crimson still couldn’t complete their comeback as the Bulldogs defeated Harvard in Cambridge. With the loss, Harvard’s season concludes with a 6-8 overall mark.

No. 7 Merrimack 16, Assumption 11 - Greg MeLaugh tied a school-record with nine goals in three quarters as Warriors defeat the Greyhounds and claimed a share of the regular season Northeast-10 crown with Adelphi.

Roger Williams 9, Wentworth 8 (OT) - Ian Powers scored the game-winner 3:08 in overtime to lift the Hawks past the Leopards in the first round of the Commonwealth Coast Conference (CCC) tournament. With the win, Roger Williams advances to Wednesday’s semifinals against Western New England. Alec Paradis paced Wentworth with five points (three goals, two assists).

Norwich 9, Mount Ida 7 - Ian Thomas halted the Mustangs rally with his third strike of the afternoon at 1:20 in the fourth as the Cadets defeated Mount Ida and claimed the Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) crown. Nick Yacuzzi, Michael Markevich and Phil Pichel netted two goals, respectively, for Mount Ida.

No. 9 Tufts 14, Bate 10 - The Jumbos outscored the Bobcats, 7-2, in the third as Tufts defeated Bates and secured a spot in next weekend’s New England Small College Athletic Conference (NESCAC) semifinals. Chris Schoehut led the Powder Blue and White with five goals, while Andrew Fiamengo finished with four goals.

No. 6 Middlebury 19, Amherst 9 - Jon Broome and Scott Redmond each scored two goals in the opening frame, which provided the Panthers the lead for good as Middlebury defeated Amherst and punched its ticket to the NESCAC semifinals. Devin Acton led Amherst with three goals.

UMass Dartmouth 11, Plymouth State 6 - Dennis Healy recorded four points (three goals, one assist), while Justin Lawless and Todd Davis each netted two strikes as the Corsairs defeated the Panthers.

Women’s Lacrosse 

University of New England 11, Gordon 10 – Hannah Tavella‘s 63rd goal of the season at 6:52 in the second lifted the Nor’easters past the Scots in the first round of the CCC tournament. With the win, UNE advances to Wednesday’s semifinals against Endicott College. Jessica Castelline led Gordon with six points (four goals, two assists).

Curry 14, Roger Williams 12 - The Colonels outscored the Hawks, 9-2, in the second half as Curry defeated Roger Williams and secured a date with Western New England on Wednesday in the CCC semifinals. Mel Brickley led Curry with five strikes, while Haley Carey and Deanna Monfredo each finished with hat tricks.

Babson 11, Wheaton 8 - Jameson Sprang netted the go-ahead goal with 5:30 remaining in the second as Beavers defeated the Lyons and punched their ticket to New England Women’s and Men’s Athletic Conference (NEWMAC) championship. Charlotte De Santis led Wheaton with five points (three goals, two assists), while Sprang finished with a hat trick.

Springfield 14, Mount Holyoke 9 - Michelle Dorsey, Colleen Keeley and Meghan Flanagan each recorded a hat trick as the Pride defeated the Lyons in the NEWMAC semifinals. Mount Ida’s Molly Macdonald led all scorers with four strikes.

No. 1 Trinity 12, Tufts 8 - First-year Molly Cox scored a career-high four goals as the Bantams defeated the Jumbos and secured a spot in next weekend’s NESCAC semifinals. Kerry Eaton led Tufts with three strikes.

No. 8 Colby 11, Amherst 3 - The Mules outscored the Lord Jeffs, 8-2, in the second half, which helped them secure a first round win the NESCAC tournament and spot in the semifinals. Caroline Holliday, Elizabeth Ludlow and Hillary Densen each scored one goal for Amherst.

Worcester State 14, Fitchburg State 13 (OT) - Jackie Connors netted two of her four goals during the extra session as the Lancers defeated the Falcons in their final regular season contest. Jessica Bartlett and Lindsey White paced Fitchburg State with five tallies, respectively.

Apr 11 2013

Mass. College Lax: Tufts 13, Wheaton 4

Kerry Eaton's four goals helped Tufts defeat Wheaton! (Photo Credit: Matt Noonan for NoontimeSports.com)

Kerry Eaton’s four goals helped Tufts defeat Wheaton! (Photo Credit: Matt Noonan for NoontimeSports.com)

By Matt Noonan 

MEDFORD, MA – Coming off a conference setback to Middlebury College, Tufts University’s women’s lacrosse team rebounded with a 13-4 victory against Wheaton College on Thursday afternoon at Bello Field.

Kerry Eaton and Caroline Ross paced the Jumbos with four goals, respectively, while Eliza Halmo registered two strikes.

“We talked about making a statement at the beginning of the game,” said Tufts coach Carol Rappolli, whose team improves to 6-4 on the season.

“The first 10 minutes are really important and making sure the shots that we took were going to move the goalkeeper, and we added a little tweak to our motion offense and the kids responded and did exactly what we asked them to do.”

Tufts jumped out to an 8-0 lead and never looked back, but Wheaton trimmed the deficit with two tallies – one from Allie Bush and one from Leila Mills, which were both set up by Charlotte De Santis.

The Jumbos, who led 8-2 at the break, padded their lead with five more goals in the second to seal the win and earn their fourth victory at home.

“I think it’s still a great opportunity for us (to play Tufts), but I was disappointed with our first 10 minutes of the game and you can’t get down 7-0 against a nationally ranked team and think you can stay in the game,” explained Wheaton coach Emily Kiablick.

“This is a hurdle that we have to get over and so we can’t get over it unless we keep playing, so that’s what we’ll do.”

Wheaton Plans To Improve: Kiablick admitted there were some positives from her team’s fifth setback of the season, but she also eyed some areas the Lyons needs to improve prior to their conference tilt against Mount Holyoke on Saturday.

“We absolutely will build off this,” said Kiablick. “We’ve done a really good job all season of looking at parts (of our team’s game) and focusing on what aspects we really need to improve and for us it was really the opening 10 minutes and we were just playing a little scared coming out of the back and on attack, so that’s what we’ll talk about and that’s what we’ll focus on tomorrow.”

Prior to today’s game, Wheaton defeated Wellesley on Tuesday, 17-4, and according to their coach, there were a lot of positives from that game she plans to build on, too.

“There were some positive things to build off the Wellesley game, so we won’t get bogged down by this, but we’ll just talk about it, address it and move on.”

Tufts Returns To NESCAC Play On Saturday: With their final non-conference game in the books, the Jumbos will return to conference play on Saturday when they welcome Amherst College to Medford for a 12 p.m. face-off.

Tufts, who is 2-4 in a very competitive conference, plans to build off their 15-8 loss to Middlebury last Sunday against the Lord Jeffs, who’re 6-4 overall and 3-4 in the conference.

“I thought that the first half against Middlebury was terrific,” said Rappolli. “We could have been a little bit closer then we were, but you’ve got a young team against a very experienced team and we’re down 8-5 at the half, and then their experience came through and we were a little bit sloppier with the ball in the second half, but I would like to play that team again because I think that we can beat that team in a NESCAC tournament situation, I really do.

“If our kids played like they did on Saturday (against Williams College) and really the first half on Sunday – that was a good weekend for us even though we were just 1-1.”

The Jumbos lost to Amherst last season, 12-4, but beat them the prior year, 14-13.

Leila Mills Continues To Fuel Wheaton’s Attack: Mills, who ranks first on her team in goals (24), netted only one of two shots this afternoon, but despite a quiet day, the junior attack has been an important asset to Wheaton’s success this season.

“Leila was probably the best player coming out of Maine her senior year, so we knew she had it in her, but she’s certainly not the type to force a situation, she’s just going to wait until the opportunity is there and that’s what makes her so strong,” said Kiablick.

“She’s catching more and shooting better, and all the freshmen that she’s playing with love passing to her because they know it’s an assist on the (stat sheet) because she’s going to take a smart shot”

Mills’ best game of the season occurred two days ago against Wellesley as she netted five strikes. She’s recorded at least two or more goals in 11 contests this season, and is on part to match her goal total from last year of 28.

Apr 11 2013

Mass. College Lax: Tufts-Wheaton Game Preview

Wheaton's Leila Mills (middle) will be one of many players to watch this afternoon! (Photo Credit: Matt Noonan for NoontimeSports.com)

Wheaton’s Leila Mills (middle) will be one of many players to watch this afternoon! (Photo Credit: Matt Noonan for NoontimeSports.com)

By NoontimeSports.com

Our Wednesday “Game of the Week” has been pushed to Thursday as Noontime Sports will be in Medford this afternoon for a non-conference women’s lacrosse match between No. 17 Tufts University and Wheaton College.

As usual, here are our pregame notes, which we’ve provided below, and also, today’s game is scheduled for a 4:30 p.m. start.

Last Meeting: The Jumbos defeated the Lyons in April of 2012, 13-6.

Tufts’ Weekend Summary: The Jumbos went 1-1 last weekend as they defeated Williams College on Saturday before falling to No. 3 Middlebury College on Sunday. Gabby Horner led the Powder Blue and White with a hat trick against the Panthers, while Kerry Eaton registered two goals and one helper.

Horner’s Recent Success: Horner, who returned to action last weekend for the first time in five games, tallied seven goals with one assist in two matches. The junior from Allentown, New Jersey, has appeared in five games this season and ranks third on the team in goals (12) and assists (4), and fourth in points (16).

Wheaton’s Conference Success: The Lyons enter today’s contest coming off back-to-back NEWMAC victories against Smith College and Wellesley College. Wheaton, who is 4-0 in NEWMAC play, has two more conference matches remaining against Mount Holyoke on Saturday and Babson College next Tuesday. The Lyons won four of their six conference matches last season, and finished 3-3 in 2011.

Leila Mills Nets Five Strikes Against Wellesley: Mills netted a season-best five strikes against Wellesley on Tuesday, which helped the Lyons defeat the Blue, 17-4. The junior from Brunswick, Maine, leads the Blue and White with 23 goals, which is one more than Charlotte De Santis, who’s recorded 22 strikes in seven contests.

Players To Watch: For Tufts, keep an eye on Horner, who’ll look to build off her weekend success. Yet, don’t overlook Caroline Ross or Eaton, who’ve combined for 35 goals in nine games.

For Wheaton, expect Mills to challenge the Jumbos defense, but don’t forget about Amy Moreira and Melanie Sharick. Moreira recorded five points (three goals, two assists) against Wellesley, while Sharick located the back of Wellesley’s cage on her only shot of the afternoon.

Quick History Note: Since 2007, Tufts is 6-0 against Wheaton. Yet, the Lyons, who first played the Jumbos in 1980, has earned two victories against their non-conference foe.

Apr 9 2013

Mass. College Lax: Locals Receive Votes In This Week’s USILA Poll

Merrimack's Corey Lunney has been a big part of the Warriors success on offense! (Photo Credit: Matt Noonan for NoontimeSports.com)

Merrimack’s Corey Lunney has been a big part of the Warriors success on offense! (Photo Credit: Matt Noonan for NoontimeSports.com)

By NoontimeSports.com 

This week’s United States Intercollegiate Lacrosse Association (USILA) poll was released yesterday and a few local teams earned spots in the Division II and III polls.

* Merrimack College (6-1, 5-0 NE-10) – For the second week in a row, the Warriors remain the fourth best team in Division II. They haven’t lost since their season opener against Limestone and will be on the field this evening when they host Bentley University for a 7 p.m. face-off. Corey Lunney continues to lead the Blue and Gold with 32 points (26 goals, six assists), while Greg Melaugh has registered 25 points (21 goals, four assists).

* Tufts University (8-2, 4-2 NESCAC) - The Jumbos winning streak extended to eight on Sunday as they defeated Middlebury College in Medford. Their slate doesn’t get easier as they’ll travel to Endicott College this evening for a big non-conference match. The Jumbos defeated the Gulls last year, 11-5. Cole Bailey was named the NESCAC Men’s Lacrosse Player of the Week on Monday and currently leads the Powder Blue and White with 31 points (14 goals, 17 assists).

Apr 7 2013

Mass. College Lax: Photos From Middlebury-Tufts

By NoontimeSports.com 

Here are some photos from today’s NESCAC men’s lacrosse match between Middlebury College and Tufts University. The Jumbos used a variety of runs to defeat the Panthers and improve to 8-2 overall and 4-2 in conference play.

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Apr 7 2013

Mass. College Lax: Tufts 14, Middlebury 13

Chris Schoenhut's diving goal helped spark a Tufts first half run! (Photo Credit: Matt Noonan for NoontimeSports.com)

Chris Schoenhut’s diving goal helped spark a Tufts first half run! (Photo Credit: Matt Noonan for NoontimeSports.com)

By Matt Noonan 

MEDFORD, MA – If there were one word to describe Tufts University’s men’s lacrosse team it would be resilient.

Trailing Middlebury College for a majority of the first half, the Jumbos rallied to even the score at the break before netting seven strikes in the second, which was just enough to defeat the Panthers, 14-13.

“The guys…they’re tough,” explained Tufts coach Mike Daly. “Up at Colby and in a tough situation we go down 6-0, and the Babson game (we were) down 3-0, and we’re down today, 4-1, (but) they just keep rolling and they really have a lot of trust and respect for each other and we just keep grinding on the game plan.

“We just got a great group of guys and we believe in each other and we stick together too.”

Middlebury wasted little time securing a three-goal advantage thanks to their defense, which forced seven turnovers in the opening session before Tufts’ offense came to life following a diving strike by Chris Schoenhut that sparked a 3-0 run, which spanned into the second quarter and tied the game at 4-4.

Andrew Metros and Jon Broome each recorded an unassisted strike early in the second, which halted the Jumbos run and pushed the Panthers ahead by two, but Peter Bowers sliced the deficit three minutes later to bring Tufts within one.

Joel Blockowicz registered his team’s third consecutive unassisted goal roughly two minutes later, but Tufts answered with Bowers and Andrew Fiamengo to tie the game at 7-7 heading into intermission.

“We were just really struggling with some of that pressure, so more of a credit to them and their speed, their tempo and they were making the plays and we weren’t,” Daly said of Middlebury’s first half effort.

Cole Bailey echoed his coach by saying, “Yeah, stick skills got us in trouble.”

Bailey extended Tufts run from the second into the third when he dodged by his defender at the top of the half circle and whipped a shot past Nate Gaudio (11 saves) before Dan Leventhal and Beau Wood registered back-to-back strikes.

Mike Giordano halted the 5-0 run with a goal midway through the third, but Tufts answered with a 4-0 run that went into the fourth and provided the Jumbos with a six-goal edge with 9:43 remaining.

“We came out firing and I think a bunch of people got in the point column, so that’s good, but that was huge and it ended up making the difference in the end of the game,” Bailey said of his team’s third quarter effort.

Middlebury stormed back with five goals – two on the man-up – but after Stew Kerr netted the Panthers 13th tally on the left side of the half circle with 24 seconds remaining, Tufts’ Brian Ruggiero won his 16th face-off, which sealed the win.

“We knew there were going to be runs back and fourth, knew it was going to be a game like that, but we just honestly get frustrated when we’re helping those teams make those runs at us, but they’re a good team and it’s in the win column and we’ll take it,” said Daly.

Leventhal led all scorers with four strikes, while Bailey and Wood combined for nine points (five goals, four assists).

“It’s awesome playing with (Beau),” stated Wood. “When he’s open I try to find him and just have trust in him throwing it into the back of the net.”

This afternoon’s victory marks Tufts’ eighth consecutive win since Mar. 16 against Stevens.

Tufts will return the grass on Tuesday when they travel to Endicott College for a 7 p.m. face-off, while Middlebury returns to action Saturday against Trinity College at home.

Mar 21 2013

Mass. College Lax: Photos From Amherst-Endicott

By NoontimeSports.com 

Here are some snapshots from last night’s Amherst-Endicott men’s lacrosse game. The Gulls used a second quarter rally to earn the lead for good as they defeated the Lord Jeffs at Harvard University’s Soldiers Field, 13-9.

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Mar 21 2013

Mass. College Lax: Endicott 13, Amherst 9

By Matt Noonan 

CAMBRIDGE, MA – Before Endicott College commenced their non-conference match against Amherst College on Wednesday evening, the Gulls endured two back-to-back losses to St. John Fisher and RIT, two of Division III’s stronger units. And even though Sean Quirk’s squad saw its three-game winning streak conclude, he certainly believed both setbacks prepared his team for the Lord Jeff.

“The thing we just told our team is that loss against Fisher, who’s a great team, and RIT, (who’s fourth in the nation), helped us prepare for tonight,” said Quirk.

Endicott jumped out to an early lead, which Amherst erased, and then rallied to retain it by netting four strikes in the second session as the Gulls defeated the Lord Jeffs, 13-9, at Harvard University’s Soldiers Field.

The win marks the first time Endicott has defeated Amherst since the 2006 season.

“(It’s) great to get back in the win column, especially (against) a good team like Amherst. We came out and gave it our best and got the (win),” said Endicott’s Nick Pinciaro, who finished with three points (two goals, one assist).

The Gulls jumped out to a 4-1 lead, but the Lord Jeffs responded with strikes from Patrick Moroney, Devin Acton, Quinn Moroney and Connor Crump, which provided the visitors with a two-goal cushion.

Ryan Sutherland, who netted his first goal of the season, sparked a four-goal rally for Endicott after he deposited his shot past Amherst’s starting goaltender Rob Dickinson (nine saves) at 11:00 in the second quarter. Connor McCormack and Pinciaro each registered back-to-back man-up goals in a span of 22 seconds.

Pinciaro doubled his goal total with a strike at 2:35, which provided the Gulls with an 8-6 lead at intermission.

“(We) were basically just running our sets,” Pinciaro said of his team’s second quarter rally. “(We) just ran the sets well and everything went our way.”

Chris Murphy increased the Gulls lead on an unassisted strike before Amherst answered with Acton, who whipped the ball past Cameron Bell (13 saves) to bring the Lord Jeffs within two.

Following Acton’s goal, Endicott make sure Amherst wouldn’t get any closer as Harrison Cotter and Murphy pushed the hosts ahead by five before Kyle Weber sealed the win by wrapping around the left post and rifling his shot past Thomas Gilligan (10 saves), who replaced Dickinson in the second frame.

“Our guys came out strong tonight, we told them in the locker room that our game plan coming into it was we’ve got to jump on these guys early. Amherst is a very well coached team by Jon Thompson, they’re disciplined, they’ve got a lot of horses out there, so we knew we had to come out strong right away and our guys did that,” said Quirk.

“When Amherst came back, they responded with a few back-to-back goals, but our guys just got right back up and kept punching, so it was a big win for us, I’m proud of our guys the way they played tonight.”

Both squads will return to the grass on Saturday as Endicott will host Springfield College in Beverley, while Amherst will travel to Albany to face-off against Nazareth.