Men's LAX Nabs First Win

NEW LONDON, Conn. – The Mitchell College men's lacrosse team picked up its first win of the season by a 12-9 final over the Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts on Thursday afternoon.

Mitchell's Aidan Messuri scored a game-high four goals while Ethan LePain added three goals and four assists. James Giovanniello also found the back of the goal twice and scooped up four ground balls.

Nathan Haley netted a hat trick to lead MCLA, which was making its season debut. Matthew Wallace and John Hankel also tacked on a pair of goals apiece to spur the offense.

The Mariners (1-1 overall) fell behind 2-0 at the start and were forced to play catch up for most of the half. The Trailblazers led 5-3 after the first quarter and expanded the margin to three with a goal by Hankel to start the second period.

Mitchell responded by scoring the final four goals of the half to lead 7-6 at intermission. LePain got things rolling with a man-up goal at the 11:35 mark, and he also potted the tying goal nearly four minutes later. A tally by Messuri with 1:38 left in the stanza gave the Mariners the lead for good.

Mitchell outscored MCLA 3-0 in the third quarter to pad the lead, with LePain notching the first goal and assisting on scores by Dominick Reposa and Giovanniello. LePain and Giovanniello then hooked up again to start the fourth, giving the Mariners their biggest lead of the day at 11-6.

MCLA clawed back into the game thanks to some Mitchell penalty trouble. The Trailblazers netted three straight man-up goals, with two coming off the stick of Wallace and the other from Haley. The scoring spree left the visitors trailing 11-9 with 4:59 to play in the contest.

Messuri put the finishing touches on the game with his fourth tally with 1:38 to go, ending any hope of a MCLA comeback. The rookie notched both his first career goal and hat trick in only his second collegiate contest.

Steven Turchetta made six saves in goal to earn the victory, while John Grieco stopped three shots while playing the second half. MCLA's Brady Larkin posted 16 saves and played all 60 minutes.

Desmond Knowles paced the Mitchell defense with a team-high seven ground balls and forced six turnovers. MCLA's Matthew Ortiz went 18-for-25 at the face-off spot and scooped up a game-high nine ground balls. 

Mitchell will next host the University of Saint Joseph on Saturday, February 26 at noon.