It was a cold, cloud-covered day at Clark Athletic Center Field and in the end the Beacons simply couldn’t out-shine MIT in a sea-saw scoring stint. Despite the challenges of actually putting together a team this season, the UMB men’s lacrosse team recorded back-to-back wins inaugurating their 2004 season. The MIT Engineers came out to the UMB campus Tuesday, March 30, 0-1 on the season and spoiled the Beacon’s season-opening win streak with an 8-6 forth quarter win.

UMB scored the first goal of the game at 8:15 in the first quarter on an unassisted goal by sophomore Pat McNulty Jr. (11). Four minutes later #16 from MIT answered with a goal of his own. In the second quarter Mac Burns took the lead back for the Beacons on an assisted goal at 10:05 in the quarter. MIT scored again shortly thereafter and once more as the clock ran out for a 3-2 halftime lead.

UMB goalie Dan O’Neill (2), last week’s Little East Conference “Defensive Player of the Week,” made several substantial saves in the first and second half, coming up with 12 stops total during the contest.

The Beacons came out fired up in the second half. At 8:03 in the third, freshman Christopher Hanafin (8) juked an MIT defender and scored on an impressive diving shot coming off the assist of fellow freshman Greg Messina (7). Hanafin liked the way that it tasted, so less than two minutes later he took the assist pass of Mike Forms and scored another impressive goal, this time with a spin move to get the open look and give the Beacons the lead once again. MIT answered by engineering three straight goals. Carter Powers (29) scored the first goal when he pulled off a hat trick against the Beacons.

Nevertheless, the Beacons weren’t burnt out. At 8:56 in the forth quarter, freshman David Liberatore (4) dropped the ball out in front of the MIT goal. When he scooped it back up he beat the defense around the corner, giving him the open look and an unassisted goal. After a few more ticks off the left side of the clock senior Jason Mohre tied it back up for UMB with a breakaway goal off the assisting cross pass from Hanafin. Still, the damage was done when MIT scored twice in the final four minutes giving the Engineers their 8-6 victory over the Beacons.

The Beacons will be facing Wentworth Institute of Technology at 1:00pm on Saturday, April 10 at UMass.