Box Score Southern Maine Falls to UMass Boston 10-6
BOSTON -- Seniors Michael Kennedy (Hudson, Mass.) and Calvin Lee (Hopkinton, Mass.) each scored two goals in the second quarter as the University of Massachusetts Boston Beacons overcame a one-goal deficit and went on to defeat the visiting University of Southern Maine Huskies 10-6 in Little East Conference men's lacrosse action Friday evening at James Cotter Field.
The Huskies finished their best regular season since 2009 at 8-6 overall and 3-4 in Little East play. The Beacons finished 12-5 overall and 4-3 in the conference. Both teams will advance to the first round of the LEC Championship Tournament that begins Tuesday. Official seeds will be announced by the conference after the three-way tie between UMB, the University of Massachusetts Dartmouth and Plymouth State University is broken. Southern Maine will be the sixth seed in the tournament.
Southern Maine held a 2-1 lead after the opening 15 minutes on goals from sophomore Sam Hornblower (Portland, Maine/Deering) and senior Jaymz McStowe (Plymouth, Mass./Plymouth North).
UMass Boston, paced by Kennedy and Lee, outscored USM 5-1 in the second quarter to take a 6-3 lead into the halftime intermission. Kennedy tied the game (2-2) early in the quarter. Lee gave the Beacons the lead for good at 6:46, and Kennedy scored 25 seconds later to make it 4-2.
Junior Keegan Smith (West Gardiner, Maine/Gardiner Area) interrupted the Beacons' surge at 5:13 to pull the Huskies within one (4-3), but that would be the closest the Huskies would get to the Beacons. Lee and senior Nick Weiss (Westfield, Mass.) scored 20 seconds apart late in the quarter to make it 6-3 at the break.
The teams traded goals in the third quarter to leave USM down three (7-4) heading into the final quarter. Sophomore Nate DelGiudice (Oakland, Maine/Messalonskee) scored to get the Huskies back within two with 12:20 remaining.
After seven-minute scoreless stretch, the Beacons ran off three straight scores in a span of 2:06 to secure the victory. USM junior Seth Wing (West Gardiner, Maine/Gardiner Area) tallied the final goal with 2:27 to play.
DelGiudice led the Huskies offense with four points on a goal and three assists. Hornblower scored two goals and Smith had a goal and one assist. Sophomore goalie Zach Bessette (Readfield, Maine/Maranacook) made six saves, and senior Eddie Barrasso (Wilmington, Mass.) had six ground balls.
Lee scored four goals for the Beacons. Connor Smith had three assists, and Kennedy had two goals. Senior Craig Frehill (Norwell, Mass.) stopped 12 shots to record his 10th win of the season. Sophomore Jack Dillon (Barrington, R.I.) had a game-high seven ground balls.
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