BOSTON, Mass. – Junior Alec Paradis' (Pelham, N.H.) fourth goal of the game, coming with 1:22 remaining in regulation snapped an 8-all tie as the Wentworth Institute of Technology men's lacrosse team rallied past the University of Massachusetts Dartmouth, 9-8, in non-conference action on Sweeney Field.
With the win, the Leopards improve to 3-2 while the Corsairs drop to 2-4.
UMass Dartmouth jumped on top seven minutes into the action, as junior Connor Gaffney (Andover, Mass.) netted his seventh goal of the season. The Corsairs added a pair of goals in the first to lead 3-0 and outshot Wentworth 10-2 in the opening quarter.
After the Corsairs netted another goal to lead 4-0, Wentworth got its offense going with senior Ryan Coakley (Flemington, N.J.) scoring back-to-back goals to make it 4-2. Paradis netted his ninth of the season to close out the first half scoring.
Sophomore Sean Peters (Medway, Mass.) and senior Riley Baxter (Groton, Mass.) each scored their second goals of the game in the third quarter to put the Corsairs up 6-3. Paradis' second goal of the game brought the score to 6-4, and junior Nick Parent (Windham, N.H.) scored to bring the Leopards within one with 58 seconds left in the third quarter.
Paradis brought the game to an even score, as this third goal of the game at 10:11 in the fourth made the score 6-6. One minute later, senior Dillon Lynch (Southwick, Mass.) scored his sixth goal of the season to give Wentworth its first lead of the night. Consecutive goals by junior Andrew Johnson and Baxter put UMass Dartmouth on top 8-7, but Coakley and Paradis both scored to put Wentworth back on top 9-8.
The Corsairs had the ball with a minute left after a Leopard turnover and called timeout with 34 seconds left. However, UMass Dartmouth was unable to get a shot off at the end preserving the victory for Wentworth.
Paradis finished with four goals and an assist while Coakley had three markers and Cushera had two helpers on the night Freshman Jake Ollila (Goffstown, N.H.) collected a game-high eight ground balls and junior James Caldwell (New Milford, Conn.) caused three turnovers.
Baxter had three goals and an assist for UMass Dartmouth with Peters adding a pair of goals. Junior Dan Brown (Beverly, Mass.) was 10-of-16 at the X while junior Bo Prozinski (Ashland, Mass.) picked up six ground balls.
Freshman Adam Dufault (Lexington, Mass.) made 12 saves on the night while sophomore Scott Spangenberg (Dover, Mass.) made 11 stops. UMass Dartmouth had a 27-25 shot advantage while Wentworth had a 47-45 edge in ground balls.
Wentworth travels to the University of New England on Wednesday for a 4 p.m. Commonwealth Coast Conference matchup. The Corsairs travel to Keene State for a conference matchup of their own on Saturday afternoon.
