LAX Rallies but Falls Short Against Emerson
NEW LONDON, Conn. – The Mitchell College men’s lacrosse
team threatened to erase a four-goal deficit in the final minutes
of Tuesday’s contest with Emerson College, but the Mariners
came up just short and lost an 11-10 decision.
Emerson (2-3 overall) held a 10-6 lead heading into the fourth
quarter and went up 11-7 with 3:27 to play following a goal from
Zoe Fisk. Mitchell (1-4 overall), however, rallied to score three
goals over the final 2:27 and had chances to net the equalizer, but
solid defense helped the Lions stave off the comeback.
Fisk led Emerson with four goals while Justin Zawlinski added three
goals and an assist. Dan Gold chipped in with two goals and
three assists while Phil Shore had one goal to go along with three
assists.
Sophomore Adam Grillo led the Mariners with four goals, his third
straight game recording a hat trick. Senior John
Kearney and sophomore Aharon
Wall each had two goals apiece.
Emerson netted the first four goals of the game and never trailed.
Zawlinski started the spree with a man-up score just over five
minutes into the contest, and the Lions added their next three
goals within a 46-second span. CJ Nadeau, Gold and Shore each found
the back of the net as Emerson jumped out to the 4-0 lead.
Mitchell’s first goal came courtesy of Grillo and closed out
the first-quarter scoring. Emerson then outscored Mitchell 5-2 in
the second stanza and took its biggest lead of the day into the
halftime intermission at 9-3. Fisk scored three of his four goals
in the first half to pace the Lions.
Mitchell cut into the deficit by outscoring Emerson 3-1 in the
third quarter. Wall netted his second goal of the game on an
extra-man opportunity to pull the Mariners to within 9-5 midway
through the period. Grillo’s third goal came with 2:45 left
in the quarter and made the score 10-6 heading into the final 15
minutes.
A goal by senior Chris
Saunderson with 9:29 to go in the game pulled Mitchell to
within 10-7. After six minutes of scoreless lacrosse, Fisk recorded
his final tally on an unassisted effort, a goal that eventually
proved to be the game-winner.
The play of junior Joseph Rice was crucial for Mitchell in the
closing minutes. Following Fisk’s goal, Rice won four
straight face-offs for the Mariners to fuel the comeback attempt.
Sophomore Chris Santapaola got things started with a goal with
2:27 remaining, and Kearney notched his second of the game just 26
seconds later. Grillo then brought Mitchell to within a goal with
58 seconds to go, and Rice followed by winning the ensuing
face-off.
Mitchell took three shots in the final minute but couldn’t
connect for the game-tying goal. Emerson’s defenders blocked
the final two attempts, securing the victory for goalie Braden
Campbell. Campbell played the entire game and finished with 11
saves while sophomore Joseph
Nott made seven saves in net for the Mariners. Rice finished
with a team-high 10 ground balls and went 17-for-24 in
face-offs.
Mitchell returns to action at Mount Saint Mary College on Saturday,
April 10 at 6 p.m.