LAX Falls to Regis in NECC Semifinals
| Final | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | T | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Mitchell (2-10) | 0 | 4 | 1 | 3 | 8 |
|
Regis (Mass.) (6-9) | 4 | 6 | 4 | 2 | 16 |
WESTON, Mass. - Calvin Brault scored two goals and added six assists on Wednesday night to lift the top-seeded Regis College men's lacrosse team over fourth-seeded Mitchell College, 16-8, in the semifinals of the 2017 New England Collegiate Conference Championship.
With the win, the Pride (6-9 overall) advances to face second-seeded Daniel Webster College, which defeated Becker College by a 6-0 final in the other semifinal, in Saturday's title game to be held at Regis Stadium at 1:00 p.m. Mitchell's season comes to a close at 2-10 overall.
The Pride jumped out to a big early lead, scoring the game's first seven goals before the Mariners got on the board just under five minutes into the second quarter. Nick Romig helped lead the Pride on the early surge, scoring a natural hat trick over a span of 3:48. Brian Jordan broke the ice for Mitchell at the 10:18 mark of the second quarter, the first of three straight goals from the Mariners to make it a four-goal game.
Just nine seconds after the third Mitchell goal, which came with 1:10 left in the second quarter, Brandon Mehler scored the first of three goals in a span of 27 seconds for the Pride, which included the first collegiate goal for George Nicolopoulos. Mitchell added one more goal late in the half to go to the locker room trailing the Pride 10-4.
A pair of man-up goals, one from Danny Rancano and one from Mehler, highlighted a third quarter in which the Pride outscored the visitors 4-1 and put the game all but out of reach. Mitchell outscored Regis 3-2 in the fourth quarter, but it proved much too little too late, as the Pride sealed the victory. In the game's final minute, Mitchell's Reilly Steele recorded his first collegiate goal.
The Pride's Mehler and the Mariners' Jordan led their respective teams by each scoring four goals. Romig and A.J. Karofsky each added hat tricks for the Pride as well.
Brault's six assists in a game is a new career high, and matches a Regis program record. Peter Leighton, a 2015 graduate, recorded six assists on two occasions, the first on April 11, 2013 and the second on April 8, 2015.
Mitchell goaltender JD LeMay had a strong performance in his final collegiate game, recording 15 saves. The Pride's D.J. Barrile turned away seven shots in the win.
