The UMass Boston men’s lacrosse team took over the home field as they faced the Huskies of Southern Maine Wednesday, April 16. This resulted in an unbelievable 29-1 win for the Beacons. The Beacons also celebrated senior day Saturday, April 19 in a match-up against Colorado College which came to an overtime 14-13 loss for the Beacons.
On Wednesday, the Beacons did not sweat much as they opened the score board in the early minutes of the match as junior Matt Hutchings netted his first goal of the game followed by graduate player Seth Libby and a hat trick from freshman Cole Allan, ending the first quarter with a 5-0 lead.
Hutchings, per usual, continued lighting up the score board as he opened the second quarter. This was followed by a goal from senior Shane McGonagle and junior Nolen Beauregard who netted his third goal of the season. Libby struck again followed by five goals from Hutchings and then Libby again, completing his fourth hat trick of the season. This duo brought the Beacons to a 14-0 lead by the end of the first half.
The second half started with Libby and Hutchings combining forces again as they both scored four goals in total. Graduate player Sean Daly netted his first of the game and fourth of the season followed by junior Carson Meczywor, who brought them up to 19-0. The Huskies finally ended this train of humiliation as they netted their first during a man-up opportunity. Junior Ryan Steckman-Buck picked up from where the Beacons left followed by freshman Matthew Konareski, closing the third quarter at 22-1.
The fourth quarter started with Steckman-Buck completing his first hat trick and a second goal from Konareski. Senior David Oman netted his second goal of the season followed by Junior Max Hamilton-Jones scoring his debut goal of the season. Fittingly, senior Timothy Sullivan secured the 29-1 victory. A lot of new Beacons came together for this statement win.
On Saturday, the Beacons said goodbye to a few seniors as well as to a home game victory. The game started with an unusual 10-minute silence, till Colorado College broke through with three goals that faced no retaliation from the Beacons resulting in a 3-0 first quarter lead.
In the second quarter Daly opened the scoring for the Beacons in just 30 seconds. This was followed by Allan and sophomore Jaden Cronin. The Tigers responded with to the Beacons’ momentum which earned them a Patrick Carey goal. Hutchings piggybacked this momentum by netting his first of the game followed by another one from Allan. This was still not enough to bridge the gap as they entered halftime with an 8-6 Tigers lead.
Junior Caesar Hendricks opened the third quarter followed by Libby and Hutchings scoring back-to-back to even the field. The Tigers responded with a goal, holding their one-goal lead. They held this lead till the end of the third quarter despite a goal from Sullivan.
Hendricks started the fourth quarter. This paved the way for the Beacons’ first lead of the game courtesy of freshman Tyler Hilgert. The Tigers rushed to maintain their lead. McGonagle saved the day as he pulled the Beacons into overtime. After three long minutes of a scoreless overtime, the Tigers netted their winning goal. This brought the Beacons to a 14-13 overtime loss.
The team is quietly approaching the end of the season. They are set on the title and the statement win against the Huskies provided them with much-needed confidence to get through the last few games left.
