LAX Falls Short in NECC Opener
HENNIKER, N.H. -- The Mitchell College men's lacrosse team opened New England Collegiate Conference action with a 19-8 loss to New England College on Saturday afternoon on Don Melander Field.
Connor Smith paced the Pilgrims with seven goals and a pair of assists while Charles Hacking chipped in five goals and an assist. Connor Fries scooped up a game-high 13 ground balls and caused five turnovers.
Jade Shields recorded a hat trick for the Mariners and also handed out one assist. Brandon Snyder and Jacob Anderson contributed a pair of goals each while Kyle Marsh finished with a goal and two assists.
New England College controlled play from the opening face-off, scoring the first three goals of the game in the first four minutes of action. Mitchell finally got on the board just over five minutes into the contest when Marsh scored a man-up goal. Shields then followed with his first tally of the day to close the gap to 3-2.
NEC scored three goals in the final 1:50 of the first quarter and kept the momentum rolling into the second. The Pilgrims ripped off five unanswered goals in the period and built the lead to 12-3. Smith accounted for five of the eight goals during the stretch, which was capped by a goal from Brendan Gruning with 11 seconds remaining in the half.
Both Shields and Anderson supplied a pair of second-half goals, but the deficit proved too much to overcome. Will Platt recorded five saves in goal for the Pilgrims in the first half while Tucker Anglemyer had six in the second. Marcel Quinlan stopped a career-high 28 shots for the Mariners.
Mitchell (3-7 overall, 0-1 NECC) will next play at Dean College on Tuesday, April 16 at 3 p.m.