Fighting Scots down Seahawks in TCCC action, 15-8

NEWPORT, R.I. - Sophomore Dan Utz (Rochester, N.Y.) scored three goals and added an assist to lead Gordon College to a 15-8 win over Salve Regina University in The Commonwealth Coast Conference (TCCC) men's lacrosse action Saturday afternoon at Reynolds Field.

Juniors Zac Blue (Monticello, Minn.) and Dan Castelline (Concord, Mass.), along with sophomore Wes Chittick (Glenside, Pa.), each added two goals and an assist for the Fighting Scots, who improved to 4-3 (2-1 TCCC) with the win. Junior Brendan Rooney (West Newton, Mass.) tallied two goals and added three assists for the Seahawks, who fell back to .500 at 5-5 (2-2 TCCC).

Gordon raced out to a 5-0 lead behind two first period goals by Mack and one each from Utz, Castelline, and senior Andrew Kirkaldy (Red Deer, Alberta). The Seahawks answered with goals by senior Ryan Comerford (Merrimack, N.H.) and Rooney to close the quarter and make it 5-2.

In the second, junior Blair Kelley (Lee, N.H.) potted his seventh of the season 33 seconds in to cut the deficit to 5-3, but goals by Castelline at 11:39, senior Jake Patterson (Stony Brook, N.Y.) at 6:31, and Blue at 5:23 gave the Fighting Scots an 8-3 lead at halftime. Gordon outshot the Seahawks 20-16 through the first 30 minutes of play.

Salve Regina climbed to within 8-5 early in the third on goals by junior Evan Gates (Ridge, N.J.) at 10:22 and Rooney at 8:10. Gordon responded by scoring the final three goals of the third quarter to grab an 11-5 lead which it carried into the fourth. Utz potted his 10th and 11th markers of the season, and Blue netted his 15th in-between. Senior Danny Mack (Columbus, Ohio) and Patterson scored to open the fourth quarter for the Fighting Scots, and two by Chittick late in the quarter sealed the win.

Gordon outshot the Seahawks 42-41 on the afternoon and held a 35-31 edge in ground balls. Freshman Houston Zemanski (Annapolis, Md.) made 14 saves on the afternoon to improve to 4-3 on the season while freshman Chris Conners (Garden City, N.Y.) recorded nine saves and fell to 4-5 on the season.

For Salve Regina, sophomore and TCCC leading scorer Chris Walker (Marshfield, Mass.) was held to one assist while Comerford tallied twice and Kelly finished with a goal and an assist.

The Seahawks return to action on Wednesday, April 1 when they travel to the University of New England for a 6:30 p.m. contest. Gordon hosts Wentworth Tuesday at 4 p.m.