GORHAM, Maine -- The University of New England Nor'easters used a five-goal third quarter outburst to erase a two-goal deficit and went on to defeat the University of Southern Maine Huskies 7-5 in a non-conference game men's lacrosse game Tuesday afternoon at Hannaford Field.

            The win was the third straight for the undefeated Nor'easters.  The game was the season opener for the Huskies.

            Senior Mike Pennacchio (Peabody, Mass.) paced the Nor'easters offense scoring three goals.  Junior Tyler Thomas (Mt. Pleasant, N.Y.) had two goals and two assists.  Sophomore Dan O'Gorman (Putnam valley, N.Y.) chipped in a pair of assists, and senior goalie Nate Porter (Cohasset, Mass.) registered 10 saves to pick up his third win of the season.

            Junior Steve Ribero (Londonderry, N.H.) had two goals and an assist for the Huskies.  Junior goalie Kyle Dussault (Lewiston, Maine) was busy in the Huskies' goal making 17 saves.

            Trailing 3-1 at halftime, the Nor'easters scored five goals in a span of 4:10 to assume the lead.  Thomas started the outburst with his first goal of the game with 5:11 remaining.  Shortly thereafter, rookie Eddie Burke (Windsor, Conn.) tied the game.

            The Huskies gave the Nor'easters a two-minute man-up situation and rookie Geoff Bruno (Durham, Conn.) and Pennacchio made the Huskies pay.  Pennacchio would add another man-up goal with 1:01 left in the quarter to make it 6-3.

            USM senior Willie Joy (Portland, Maine/Deering) broke the string of UNE goals with 12:57 to go in the fourth period.  Ribero tallied his second marker with 4:34 to go, but Thomas gave the visitors some breathing room with his second goal 38 seconds later.

            Ribero scored the Huskies' first goal of the season in the opening period.  Pennacchio tied the game less than a minute later for UNE.  Seniors Jeremy Parmley (Eliot, Maine/Marshwood) and Nate Prince would find the net before the end of the quarter to give the Huskies a 3-1 lead after 15 minutes of play.

            UNE out shot USM 42-27 and scored four man-up goals in 14 advantages.

            Southern Maine is back in action on Thursday (4:30 p.m.) playing against Saint Joseph's College at Memorial Field in Portland.  UNE is off until Saturday (1:00 p.m.) when it hosts Plymouth State University.

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