In a Little East Conference (LEC) game on Saturday, April 4, at Clean Harbors Stadium in Buzzards Bay, the Massachusetts Maritime defeated the Keene State Men’s Lacrosse team 16-7. The Owls drop to 6-5 and 2-2 in the conference, while the Buccaneers improve to 8-3 overall and 3-1 in the LEC.
At 12:35 in the first quarter, senior attacker Jack Ansart scored off an assist from fifth-year midfielder Ben Tukey, giving Keene State the early lead. In response, junior attacker Quinn Mucha, sophomore faceoff Cole Jenkins and sophomore midfield Chilton Cabot scored three goals in a row to give the Buccaneers a 3-1 lead. Before the end of the quarter, senior attacker Dylan Seymour cut the lead by one, and the Buccaneers had a 3-2 lead going into the second quarter.
Early in the second quarter, junior midfielder Jake Dubiel tied the score at three, but Maritime responded again to take back the lead. Sophomore attacker Adam Scala and Dubiel both converted two-man match-up opportunities for Keene State, tying the score at five going into the last few minutes of the half. With two minutes left, senior attack/midfielder Daniel Kane’s goal gave Maritime a 6-5 lead at the half.
The third quarter favored the Buccaneers. Sophomore attacker James Sullivan scored four goals, and senior midfielders Kyle Shanahan and Mucha each added on to give Maritime a 6-0 early lead in the quarter, increasing its lead to 11-5. Tukey converted a man-up opportunity to make it 11-6. Before the quarter ended, Mucha added one more goal, allowing the Buccaneers a 12-6 lead before the final quarter.
Both teams traded goals in the fourth quarter. Kane scored the opening two for the Buccaneers, increasing the lead to 14-6. Tukey tried to help the Owls come back with his second man-up goal of the match, but first-year midfielder Jayson Kelleher and Sullivan’s goals sealed the deal for Maritime, finishing the game 16-7.
Ansart and sophomore attacker Adam Scala each had one goal of their own, while Dubiel and Tukey each finished with two goals and an assist for Keene State. After 47 minutes of play, the senior goaltender stopped 15 shots before relieving junior Cameron Smith, who had three saves on the day. Mucha and Kane also each had three goals and three assists for Maritime, while Sullivan scored the remaining four goals. The Buccaneers attacker had 52 shot attempts and won the ground ball battle, going 47-22. Their goalie, first-year Nicholas Hall, made 10 saves to help the team win. The Owls committed 34 turnovers compared to 23 for the Buccaneers and were outshot 52-33. The Buccaneers converted two out of seven man-up opportunities, while the Owls went three out of 12.
The Owls are still in a competitive conference with a 2-2 LEC record and several conference games remaining. Massachusetts Maritime is still a tough opponent in the LEC as the season moves into its second half, now 3-1 in conference play. The Owls will host Plymouth State on Saturday, April 11, for the senior day game.
Alex Vaccaro can be contacted at
