UMass Boston Men’s Lacrosse lost to the Western Connecticut Wolves after a win against the Mass Maritime Buccaneers.
The match against the Buccaneers was one for the books; it was tied up at 11–11 when Liam Bowler stepped up, successfully managing to ricochet a shot off the Buccaneers’ goalkeeper with less than a second remaining, bagging a 12–11 victory for the Beacons, per Beacons Athletics. [1]
Unfortunately, the Beacons couldn’t capitalize as they entered their Little East Conference matchup against the Wolves. This marked the demise of their aim to go through the LEC undefeated.
According to Beacons Athletics, the first quarter was a showdown between UMass Boston’s star goalie James Boldy and the Wolves’ Brendan Grove. Boldy managed to stop five of seven shots, but Grove managed to outshine Boldy by saving both of the shots that came his way [2].
The Wolves maintained possession of the ball in the first quarter, also having a pair of early scores in the second. The Beacons were quick to heat things up when Luke Murphy assisted Charlie Chapman for the team’s first goal. This was then soon followed by Murphy cutting the lead to two. Nolen Beauregard successfully landed his first goal of the season, when he went in unassisted and closed the gap to a one-point lead.
The Wolves were quick to retaliate with two scores of their own, which were then answered by the Beacons’ Sean Daly. This brought the Beacons to a 6–4 gap. The Wolves raged and unloaded three goals in the last minute of the half, taking back the lead.
The third quarter saw UMass Boston slow down while the Wolves picked up the pace and scored a whopping six goals, further stretching the gap to 15–4. The third quarter put the Beacons in a dry spell.
The Beacons came back stronger in the fourth quarter. Greg Wolff woke the Beacons up from their third quarter slumber with three goals with 10 minutes left to play and gave way for Murphy to net one of his own. Patrick Dwinnells managed to swipe a shot through the Wolves’ goalkeeper, further narrowing West Conn’s lead to eight.
The Beacons put on an exquisite show of skills as Daly, Murphy and Zach Mann each scored in the final minutes. But, unfortunately for the Beacons, this wasn’t enough, losing 18–13. [2] They paid heavily for their dry spell on the offensive front in the earlier minutes of the match.
The loss put a dent in their otherwise spotless conference record. Even though the Beacons lost the match, the last quarter showed their potential and how well the team can work under pressure. They did not give up and fought until the very end, even when the water got rough.
- Bowler’s Heroics Uphold Beacons’ Perfect Conference Record – UMass Boston (beaconsathletics.com)
- Late Surge Comes Up Short for Men’s Lacrosse – UMass Boston (beaconsathletics.com)