BOSTON, Mass. – Senior Alec Paradis (Pelham, N.H.) scored four goals and added one assist while junior Mike Coakley (Flemington, N.J.) contributed two goals and two assists to help lift the Wentworth Institute of Technology men's lacrosse team to a 11-6 Commonwealth Conference victory over Curry College at Sweeney Field on Saturday afternoon.
Winners of two straight, the Leopards improve to 3-8 overall and 1-2 in CCC play while the Colonels fall to 8-4 (0-4).
Wentworth took a 2-0 lead on goals from junior Sean Farmer (Billerica, Mass.) and freshman Jacob Eldred's (Goffstown, N.H.) 23 seconds apart, but the Leopards' lead was short lived. Junior Jack McMenomey (West Linn, Ore.) and senior Joseph Shea (Arlington, Mass.) squared the game 2-all for Curry at 5:10 of the first quarter, but Wentworth quickly regained the offensive advantage. Coakley scored a pair of goals 3:00 apart to give the Leopards a 4-2 lead after one.
Curry made it a 5-3 game in the second quarter on a man-up goal by junior MJ Urbano (Wakefield, Mass.), but Paradis' three goals in the quarter paced the Leopards to a 7-3 edge at the break.
Wentworth's offense put more offensive pressure on Curry and held the Colonels scoreless throughout the third. An unassisted man-up goal from Paradis at 14:14 extended Wentworth's lead to five and was followed up by goals from junior Eric Iacaboni (Sterling, Mass.) and senior Nick Parent (Windham, N.H.) to extend the lead to 11-3 after three.
However, Curry would not go away quietly and powered out three consecutive fourth-quarter goals to help chip away at Wentworth's eight-point lead. Shea's goal at the 9:18 mark, Curry's first goal since 7:22 of the second quarter, put the Colonels within six. The Colonels took advantage of two man-up opportunities as Urbano and McMenomey powered out back-to-back goals to bring the score to 10-6 with eight regulation minutes remaining.
Wentworth was able to hold Curry for the final eight minutes as a goal by freshman Spencer Allen (New Boston, N.H.) closed the book on the Colonels and locked the 11-6 win.
Along with Paradis and Coakley, Eldred and Parent each registered one goal and one assist. Parent also scooped up five ground balls and senior James Caldwell (New Milford, Conn.) had four caused turnovers.
A trio of Colonels' had two goals apiece-McMenomey, Urbano and Shea – for Urbano also had four assists.
Sophomore Scott Boucher (Salisbury, N.H.) made six saves in the first half to pick up the win, while classmate Adam Dufault (Lexington, Mass.) had 10 saves through the final 30 minutes. Junior Shane O'Brien (East Falmouth, Mass.) made 19 saves in the loss.
The Leopards held the advantage in ground balls (34-31) and shots (48-39).
Wentworth takes on the University of New England at 7:00 p.m. on Tuesday, while Curry returns home to face Nichols at 3:30 p.m. on Saturday, April 16.
