WILLIMANTIC, Conn. – Senior goalie Matt Cannon (Bridgewater, N.J./Bridgewater-Raritan) stopped 22 shots and senior midfielder Brian Lalli (Cranbury, N.J./Princeton) added a goal and three assists as Stevens Institute of Technology earned an 8-6 win over Eastern Connecticut State University on Sunday in a non-conference men’s lacrosse game at Thomas Nevers Field.
Stevens (3-2), which opened up an 8-2 lead early in the fourth quarter, snapped Eastern Connecticut’s 37-game home winning streak. Eastern Connecticut (1-4) lost for just the third time in 57 games at Nevers Field.
After Eastern Connecticut jumped ahead 1-0 on a goal by senior Bill Morgan with 11:38 left in the first quarter, Stevens scored the next three goals and never trailed the rest of the way. Senior midfielder Erik Reckdenwald (Glen Aubrey, N.Y./Whitney Point) pulled the Ducks even with 9:25 left in the opening quarter. Freshman midfielder Mark Bielicky (Martinsville, N.J./Bridgewater-Raritan) gave Stevens the lead with 6:09 left and Reckdenwald scored again just 48 seconds later as Stevens took a 3-1 lead.
The teams traded goals in the second quarter with senior Amir Loghmanieh scoring for Eastern and Bielicky scoring off an assist from Lalli with 5:40 left as Stevens held a 4-2 halftime advantage.
The Ducks pulled away in the third quarter with three unanswered goals. Lalli, freshman Joe Van Sickle (Hampton, N.J./Peddie School) and sophomore Rich Benson (Rehoboth Beach, Del./Cape Henlopen) scored as Stevens took a 7-2 lead into the fourth quarter. A goal by senior Matt Kuppe (Pennington, N.J./Hopewell Valley) with 13:19 left in the fourth gave the Ducks a six-goal cushion.
Eastern Connecticut rallied late, scoring four goals in a span of 4:37. Junior Brian Hebron, sophomore Rob Quamily, Loghmanieh and Morgan had a goal apiece as the Warriors pulled to within 8-6 with 2:05 left.
Cannon, who missed nearly two full games, returned from a knee injury to anchor a strong defensive effort. His 22 saves were a season-high eclipsing the previous mark of 17 in Stevens’ 13-11 win over then ninth-ranked Franklin & Marshall. Cannon played less than one quarter in a 14-8 loss to No. 13 Lynchburg and then sat out the Ducks’ 14-9 loss at Rensselaer.
Eastern Connecticut held a 39-31 edge in shots. Freshman Chris Harinsky stopped 12 shots for the Warriors.
Stevens is back in action on Saturday, April 3, when it hosts Manhattanville College in its Knickerbocker Lacrosse Conference opener at 7 p.m.
STEVENS 8, EASTERN CONNECTICUT 6
SCORING SUMMARY:
Prd Time Team Goal Scorer Assists
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1. 1st 11:38 ECSU Bill Morgan Unassisted
2. 1st 9:25 SIT Erik Reckdenwald Unassisted
3. 1st 6:09 SIT Mark Bielicky Unassisted
4. 1st 5:21 SIT Erik Reckdenwald Brian Lalli
5. 2nd 8:46 ECSU Amir Loghmanieh Andy Stockfisch
6. 2nd 5:40 SIT Mark Bielicky Brian Lalli
7. 3rd 13:01 SIT Brian Lalli Eliot Dahood
8. 3rd 10:25 SIT Joe Van Sickle Brian Lalli
9. 3rd 0:54 SIT Rich Benson Eric You
10. 4th 13:19 SIT Matt Kuppe Unassisted
11. 4th 6:42 ECSU Brian Hebron Amir Loghmanieh
12. 4th 4:26 ECSU Rob Quamily Unassisted
13. 4th 3:38 ECSU Amir Loghmanieh Unassisted
14. 4th 2:05 ECSU Bill Morgan Dave Carpenter
SHOTS: Stevens 31; Eastern Connecticut 39
SAVES: Stevens 22 (Matt Cannon);
Eastern Connecticut 12 (Chris Harinsky)
