No. 12 Saint Michael’s Wins Defensive Struggle over Bentley, 6-3
WALTHAM, Mass. – Though there were only nine goals scored on the night, No. 12 Saint Michael's did enough to emerge as 6-3 winners over Bentley University in Northeast-10 men's lacrosse Wednesday night.
Bentley trailed 3-1 at halftime, but its offensive awoke early in the third quarter as they scored twice in the first 3:49. Sophomore Doug Mahony (Mercer Island, Wash./Mercer Island) scored his third of the season just 38 seconds into the quarter to make it a 3-2 game.
Freshman attack Matt Brigham (Portsmouth, R.I./Portsmouth Abbey) followed that up with his team leading seventh of the year at the 11:11 mark to tie the game.
But Saint Michael's took the lead back on a goal by sophomore Sean Curtin with 6:51 left in the period. Just 58 seconds later junior midfielder Cooper Quenneville netted his second of the game to give the Purple Knights a 5-3 lead.
Bentley had three man-up opportunities totaling 2:00 after Quenneville's goal, but came empty each time. They killed off two man-up chances for Saint Michael's in the middle of the fourth quarter, but being down a man limited their offensive opportunities during that time.
Saint Michael's then essentially put the game away with 1:26 left in the fourth on a goal by senior attack Pete Donnally to give them a 6-3 advantage.
Neither team scored in the first quarter, but Bentley opened the scoring 2:19 into the second quarter on a goal by senior Steve Caditz (Mercer Island, Wash./Mercer Island). Bentley kept Saint Michael's off the scoreboard until the 4:32 mark when Quenneville scored his first of the night. The Purple Knights finished the quarter strong with two more goals from Tim McDonald and Matt Casella to lead 3-1 at the break.
The loss drops Bentley's record to 1-5 overall and 1-4 in the NE-10. Saint Michael's has now won four straight, and they improve their record to 5-2 overall and 4-0 in the NE-10.
Bentley returns to the field on Saturday night when they host Saint Rose.