Seahawks look Sharp in 11-6 victory over Wentworth

MIDDLETOWN, R.I. –  Sharp Jones (Scituate, Mass.) scores five goals and the Salve Regina University men's lacrosse team picked up an 11-6 victory over Wentworth Institute of Technology in Commonwealth Coast Conference (CCC) action on Tuesday night at Gaudet Field.

Early on the Leopards had opportunities to take the lead but were turned aside by goalie Andrew Watkins (Natick, Mass.). The Leopards seemed poised to take a lead, going two-man up with 9:09 to go in the first quarter.

Alec Paradis (Pelham, N.H.) fired a shot all alone on the wing but was robbed by Watkins, who quickly flipped the ball to defenseman Mike Sheehan (Wading River, N.Y.). Sheehan tossed the ball long and deep to Sharp Jones who raced in for a shorthanded score.

The Seahawks built off the momentum of that score and dominated the time of possession in the first quarter, scrapping for all the 50/50 balls and sustaining pressure in the offensive end. Nick LoCicero (Lynbrook, N.Y.) would strike again for the Seahawks at 5:39, then Brian Gioscio (Franklin, Mass.) would make it 3-0 with 4:17 left in the first.

The Seahawks would carry the 3-0 lead and all the momentum into the second period.

CCC Rookie of the Week Zach Makoske (Shoreham, Mass.) netted his seventh goal of the season just 1:21 into the second to extend the Seahawks lead to 4-0.

Paradis would break the scoring run for the Seahawks on an rising underhanded shot the rocketed past Watkins shoulder for the Leopards first goal of the night.

The Seahawks closed out the half strong though, outworking the Leopards for loose balls and using harassing defense to keep the leopards from establishing themselves in the offensive end and quickly striking in transition.

Jones scored again with ten minutes to go followed a minute later by Alex Flynn (Nashua, N.H.). Jones would score a hat-trick goal with 4:53 to go in the first half, and a 7-1 lead.

While the Seahawks dominated the first half, the third quarter belonged to the Leopards.

Wentworth scored four straight goals to open the third, controlling the pace of play throughout, and noticeably the more aggressive team. The Leopards flipped the script and were the ones out working the Seahawks for loose balls and upping the physical play.

Paradis scored on the man-up on a feed from Ryan Coakley (Flemington, N.J.) to draw the Leopards within two goals, at 7-5 with 3:57 to go in the third.

The Seahawks finally were able to win a faceoff and calm things down. After 12 solid minutes of chances for the Leopards the Seahawks made a push late in the third to regain control.

With 55 seconds to go Sean Farrell (Wakefield, Mass.) was called for a slash. A penalty that would prove costly, as Eric Backus (Mansfield, Mass.) would score on a drive from the right wing, beating Wentworth netminder Adam Dufault (Lexington, Mass.) for a momentum shifting goal with time running out in the third.

The Seahawks did not let up to begin the final frame. Sharp Jones scored his fourth and fifth goals of the night in the first two and half minutes of the fourth to reestablish a five goal lead for the Seahawks, 10-5.

Ryan Coakley would score his second with 11:50 and plenty of time for the Leoaprds to mount a comeback like they did in the third, but this time the Seahawks buckled down on defense and held the Leopards scoreless the remainder of the quarter.

The Seahawks held the Leopards to just four shots in the final frame en route to the win.

Watkins finished with nine saves for his first win in between the pipes for the Seahawks while Dufualt stopped five of sixteen shots faced in the loss for the Leopards.

The Seahawks now 5-6 overall and 3-4 in the CCC will play the final game of the regular season on Saturday April 18 when they host Curry College at 3 p.m. The Leoaprds fall to 7-6 overall, 3-3 in the CCC, and will host Norwich on April 16 at 7 p.m.