COLCHESTER, Vt. – Sophomore midfielder Michael Fricke (Highlands Ranch, Colo./Valor) had a hat trick to lead a group of six goal scorers as the Bentley men's lacrosse team won on the road 9-7 over Saint Michael's in Northeast-10 action on Saturday afternoon.

A strong first half and early third quarter propelled Bentley to the win. They led the Purple Knights 6-3 at halftime and 8-3 after about four minutes of the third quarter. That five goal lead turned out to be important as the Falcons scored just once the rest of the way as Saint Michael's gradually chipped away. The Knights got to within 9-7 with 2:39 left in the fourth quarter after a man-up goal by Jon Lockwood.

After Lockwood's goal, Bentley's Nick Irby (Groton, Mass./Groton-Dunstable) won the ensuing face-off and Logan Walsh (Sandy Hook, Conn./Newtown) scooped up the ground ball. Bentley drained over a minute of the clock on that possession, which ended with a shot by sophomore Matt Brooks (Brunswick, Maine/Philips Exeter) being saved. The Knights got the ball back and executed a successful clear, and drew a penalty on Bentley with 47 seconds left. But Falcons goalie Michael Haggan (Braintree, Mass./BC High) came up with a save on Ralph Grillone III with 21 seconds left, Haggan picked up the ground ball and that was the end of it.

Fricke scored two goals in the first quarter as the teams were tied 2-2 after the first 15 minutes. The Falcons then dominated the second quarter by outscoring the hosts 4-1. Junior Alex Astarita (Bedford, N.H./Bishop Guertin) found the back of the net at the 9:14 mark to give Bentley a 3-2 lead. After about six minutes of neither team scoring, Bentley struck three times in a 1:42 flurry towards the end of the quarter. Matt Sanford (Stratham, N.H./Bow), Walker Gautier (Miami, Fla./Gulliver Prep) and Timmy Day (Westfield, N.J./St. Joseph's) all scored as Bentley led 6-3 at halftime.

Fricke added his third goal of the day 31 seconds into the second half, and Cam Christensen (Duxbury, Mass./Duxbury) struck at the 11:38 mark to give Bentley an 8-3 lead.

The win improved Bentley's record to 3-5 on the season and 2-4 NE10. They are back at home on Wednesday night to host Assumption.