LAX Clipped by Becker on Senior Day

NEW LONDON, Conn. – The Mitchell College men's lacrosse team wrapped up the regular season with a 10-9 loss to Becker College on Saturday afternoon in New England Collegiate Conference action at Alumni Field.

The teams entered the fourth quarter tied at 9-9, but Becker's Matthew Guerin netted the game-winning goal—the only score of the period—with 2:53 remaining. Mitchell scrambled to find the game-tying tally, but goalie Willard McMillen made a pair of saves in the final minutes to secure the win. He finished with 13 stops in the game.

Guerin and Blake Gordon each recorded hat tricks while Cruz Desrochers (Malden, Mass./Malden) added a pair of scores. Avyay Chaganty also pitched in with a goal and four assists on the day as Becker improved to 2-12 overall (1-1 NECC).

Kyle Marsh led all scorers with five goals to pace the Mariners (0-12 overall, 0-2 NECC). Jesse McKeever added a goal and two assists and went 12-for-20 at the face-off spot. McKeever finished with a game-high 12 ground balls while Marsh scooped up 10. Marcel Quinlan had a solid game in goal, keeping the Mariners in the game with 21 saves.

The first half was a back-and-forth affair as the two sides traded goals for most of the stanza. Neither side led by more than one, but Mitchell never led until Jade Shields scored with three seconds remaining in the half to put the Mariners on top 6-5 heading into intermission.

Marsh scored Mitchell's first two goals of the second half, the second of which came on an extra-man opportunity and pushed the lead to 8-6. The Hawks answered with three straight goals to retake the lead, with Desrochers potting the first and Gordon adding the next two. Another goal by Marsh capped the third-quarter scoring with the score tied at 9-9.

After 11:30 scoreless minutes to start the fourth quarter, a Mitchell slashing penalty gave Becker a man-up chance. The Hawks didn't waste the opportunity, as Chaganty found Guerin for the go-ahead score.

Mitchell also had an extra-man advantage in the final two minutes but came up empty. The Mariners went just 1-for-8 with the extra man on the day.

Prior to the game, the Mariners honored seniors Will Drury, Anthony Drake and Michael Frosina. Drake caused a turnovers and grabbed three ground balls while Frosina netted his first goal of the season.

Becker and Mitchell will meet again in the semifinals of the NECC Championship on Wednesday, April 25 in Leicester, Mass.