Second-half surge propels Babson past Salve Regina, 12-9

MIDDLETOWN, R.I. - Sophomore Cam Caruso (St. Charles, Ill.) came off the bench to score three goals as Babson College outscored the Salve Regina University men's lacrosse team 8-3 in the second half and record a 12-9 win in non-conference action Tuesday afternoon at Gaudet Field.

Junior Tom Cykana (Minnetonka, Minn.) and freshman James Schmidt (Shelburne, Vt.) each potted three goals for the Beavers, who snapped a two-game losing skid and improved to 2-3 on the season. Junior Brendan Rooney (West Newton, Mass.) scored three goals for the Seahawks, who slipped to 2-3.

Trailing 6-4 at halftime, the Beavers outscored the Seahawks 4-1 in the third to grab an 8-7 lead they would not relinquish. Senior Max Artz (Gates Mills, Ohio), sophomores Kevin Sayet (Miami, Fla.) and Caruso, and Schmidt each scored for Babson before senior Ryan Comerford (Merrimack, N.H.) tallied his first goal of the season with 20 seconds remaining to cap the third period scoring.

The Beavers built a 12-7 lead in the fourth behind a pair of goals from Cykana and one each from Caruso and freshman Alex Patinkin (Providence, R.I.). Comerford and junior Ben Caron (East Longmeadow, Mass.) scored in the final 2:00 to cap the game.

"Babson played a great game," said Seahawks head coach Pat Cooney. "They played the zone defense very effectively, and we didn't play with any energy."

Babson opened the scoring at 7:58 of the first quarter on a goal by sophomore Thomas Mallon (Manhasset, N.Y.). Salve Regina answered with goals by graduate student Nick Clark (Rye, N.H.) and Rooney to grab a 2-1 lead. After sophomore Brian Manger (Norwell, Mass.) evened the score at two with his first goal of the season at 2:23, the Seahawks closed the half with three-straight goals to take a 5-2 lead. Rooney tallied his ninth with 1:36 remaining to make it 3-2, and a pair of goals by sophomore Chris Walker (Marshfield, Mass.) at 31 seconds and 17 seconds put the home team up at the end of 15 minutes of play.

In the second, Babson outscored SRU 2-1 to cut the halftime deficit to two at 6-4. Caruso and Schmidt each netted goals for the Beavers, while Rooney netted his 10th of the season. Babson outshot the Seahawks 18-16 in the first half of play.

Senior Mike Saucier (Nashua, N.H.) made 10 saves to move to 2-3 on the season for the Beavers, who outshot the Seahawks 41-29 on the afternoon. Freshman Chris Connors (Garden City, N.Y.) stopped 15 Babson shots. The Beavers held a 49-40 edge in ground balls, led by 10 each from Saucier and junior Chris Ebert (Boxford, Mass.).

Walker finished the afternoon with two goals and an assist to push his point total to a team-best 22 (15-7-22), while Clark finished with a goal and an assist. For Babson, Schmidt recorded four points on two goals and two assists while Patinkin dished out three helpers to go along with his seventh goal of the season.

The Seahawks return to action on Thursday when they host Salem State at 4 p.m. Babson travels to Scranton for a 1 p.m. contest on Saturday.