Seahawks drop close CCC match to UNE

BIDDEFORD, Maine - The Salve Regina men's lacrosse team saw its three-game winning streak snapped as the Seahawks fell to the University of New England 14-9 in Commonwealth Coast Conference action, Saturday afternoon. 

The Nor'easters set a new program single-season record for wins (11-4) with the triumph, and clinched one of the top four seeds in the upcoming CCC tournament by moving to 5-2 in league play. 

SRU saw its three-game win streak come to an end, dropping to 6-9 overall and 3-4 in conference matches. 

Senior Tyler Thomas (Mount Pleasant, N.Y.) contributed two goals and five helpers on the day, marking the second-best single-game assist total in program history. Thomas also had a team-high four caused turnovers. 

UNE junior Dan O'Gorman (Putnam Valley, N.Y.) as well as sophomores Geoff Bruno (Durham, Conn.) and Shamus Higginbottom (New Milford, Conn.) recorded the other scores for the home side, which never trailed in the game. 

O'Gorman and sophomore Andrew Kelly (Sudbury, Mass.) led the squad in ground balls with five apiece. Senior Nick McMahon (Westfield, Mass.) added three caused turnovers. First-year John Dusel (Wilbraham, Mass.) made eight stops over the opening 45 minutes of action, while senior Jay Letendre (Southington, Conn.) made another eight in the final period to preserve the win. 

For the Seahawks, senior Taylor Braun (Commack, N.Y.) found the back of the cage three times and junior Curtis Mckeon (West Haven, Conn.) added two, in addition to scooping up a game-high eight ground balls. Sophomore Steven Russell (Bayport, N.Y.) registered six ground balls to go with four caused turnovers. 

Between the pipes, first-year Brian Farina (Jenkintown, Pa.) tallied 13 saves. 

Gross got things started less than one minute into the contest with the first of his four markers, and Big Blue had a 3-1 cushion after the 1st period. 

With a 5-3 edge midway through the 2nd frame, Wolfe put in a pass from Thomas at 4:42 to spark a closing three-goal run to head into the halftime break up 8-3. It was the second of three times that the pair connected for a UNE goal. 

The hosts established a 23-13 advantage in shots during the initial 30 minutes of play. 

Salve pulled to within three (8-5) right out of the gate in the 3rd quarter, as junior Chad Hollenshade (Lutherville, Md.) scored with 32 ticks gone in the stanza, and then set-up first-year James Fee (Masspequa, N.Y.) for another tally just eight seconds later. 

However, the visitors could not reduce the deficit any further. The Seahawks were looking up at a 10-6 UNE lead before Wolfe netted his fourth and fifth goals of the contest to make the difference six entering the last period. 

Though scoring was even after intermission, Salve Regina amassed a 28-19 edge in shots over the 3rd and 4th frames. 

With the decision, UNE's Charlie Burch logged his 300th career victory as a head lacrosse coach, combining results from both high school and college. 

Both sides conclude the regular-season with league dates on Wednesday. The Nor'easters head to Curry College for a 4 p.m. contest, while the Seahawks return home to entertain Wentworth Institute of Technology later that night (7 p.m.) with the fifth-seed in the upcoming CCC Championship on the line.