LAX Rallies Back to Clip Becker

NEW LONDON, Conn. – The Mitchell College men's lacrosse team rallied back from a five-goal deficit to earn an 11-9 victory over Becker College on Saturday afternoon in a New England Collegiate Conference showdown at Alumni Field.

Jordan Cook provided the spark on the offensive end with a game-high five goals to pace the Mariners (4-4 overall, 2-0 NECC). Goalie JD LeMay tied a career high with 22 saves and allowed only two goals in the second half as Mitchell picked up the come-from-behind victory.

Becker (2-6 overall, 0-1 NECC) got of the gate quickly thanks to a pair of scores by Daniel Johnson. The Hawks won the opening face-off and marched up the field as Ryan Kearney fed Johnson for the first tally just 12 seconds into the contest. After another win on the ensuing face-off, Becker went ahead 2-0 behind another strike from Johnson just 12 seconds later.

The Hawks continued to pour it on in the first quarter as Avyay Chaganty scored at the 8:47 mark and Johnson completed the hat trick with a man-up tally with 6:07 to go. Dan DiGioia finally got Mitchell on the scoreboard with 2:42 remaining in the period, but Becker had all the momentum heading into the second stanza.

Becker took its largest lead at 7-2 following a goal from Blake Gordon with 3:26 to play in the half. Mitchell clawed its way back into the game as Cook took charge, scoring twice in the final 1:10 to close the gap to 7-4. His final goal of the half—and his third of the quarter—came with only two seconds remaining as the Mariners capitalized on a man advantage.

Becker's lead grew to 8-4 as Alex Rossman opened the second-half scoring with an unassisted effort at the 13:25 mark. However, the Mariners tightened up on defense behind the lead of LeMay, and the offense chipped away at the deficit. By the end of the third quarter, Mitchell had scored three times—including another pair from Cook—to trim the margin to 8-7 heading into the final period.

Tyler Desances tied the game at 8-8 with 11:30 remaining in the fourth, and the Mariners took their first lead of the day on a man-up score by Evan Gennell just over a minute later. Mitchell added another extra-man goal off the stick of DiGioia at the 7:53 mark, and with 2:35 to go it was McCarthy Brodaski who finished off a nice sequence with a score to make it 11-8. 

When all was said and done, the Mariners seized control behind seven straight goals in the second half. Johnson tallied with 1:44 remaining to pull Becker within two at 11-9, but LeMay continued his strong play and kept his net clear in the final moments. He made a total of 12 saves in the second half and stopped nine straight shots on goal at one point.

Mitchell's comeback was spurred by extra-man opportunities. The Mariners went 4-for-6 with the man advantage and converted on all three second-half opportunities. Becker held a commanding 47-29 edge in shots and a 42-25 advantage in ground balls.

DiGioia and Gennell each finished with a pair of goals while Brodaski handed out four assists. Brian Jordan caused four turnovers on defense for the Mariners and picked up a team-high five ground balls.

Johnson led the Hawks with four goals while Kearney added three assists. Joel Clark won 17 out of 23 face-offs on the day while Bryan Parsons scooped up a game-high 19 ground balls. Goalie Jeffrey Candee recorded five saves in the loss.

Mitchell will next host Coast Guard on Wednesday, April 8 at 4 p.m. Becker returns to action at Mount Ida College on Monday, April 6 at 4 p.m.