Endicott defeated 21-9 by #7 Stevens in season opener

HOBOKEN, N.J. – Playing in their 2013 season opener and their first of several games against nationally ranked opponents, the Endicott men's lacrosse team faltered against the #7 ranked Stevens Ducks 21-9 on the road to fall to 0-1 overall on the season.

Endicott, after winning the series opener over Stevens 11-9 back in 2009, has now lost four straight to the Ducks.  Stevens had won the previous three meetings by an average margin of victory of 2.7 goals before Sunday's showdown in Hoboken.  The Ducks, who reached the second round of the NCAA DIII Tournament before falling to eventual tournament finalist SUNY Cortland, improved to 2-0 on the young season.

Endicott opens up their CCC schedule on Wednesday, February 27^th at 4:00 pm against North Shore rival Gordon in Wenham, Massachusetts.  With an 18-5 overall record against the Scots, including wins in 13 of their last 14 games, the Blue and Green will look to get head coach Sean Quirk his 200^th career coaching victory. 

Three different Endicott players scored twice for the visiting Gulls including sophomore attacker Nick Pinciaro (Beverly, Mass.) who totaled a team-high three points on two goals and one assist.  Senior captain Connor McCormack (Norwalk, Conn.) and sophomore attacker Kyle Weber (West Hartford, Conn.) also found the back of the net twice in the season opener.  All three are expected to be critical parts of Endicott's offensive game plan this season.

Junior Chris Murphy (Holden, Mass.) and sophomores Harrison Cotter (Lordship, Conn.) and Joshua Tordik (Sayville, N.Y.) also scored for the Blue and Green. 

Endicott's offensive output was outmatched by Stevens who saw three of their players tally seven points in the game including junior attacker Charlie Cronin (Northampton, Mass.) who scored a game-high five goals with two assists.  Senior Nicolas Philippi (Mullica Hill, N.J.) and sophomore Andrew Scutchfield (Lewes, Del.) each added four goals and three assists each in the win.  

Gulls senior goalie Tom Burke (Sudbury, Mass.) took the loss to fall to 0-1 on the year.  He made eight saves in the cage but saw five man-up goals on 15 Endicott penalties contribute to the team's loss.  Burke's opposition, sophomore Matthew Deiner (Millstone Twp., N.J.) allowed seven of Endicott's nine goals while making nine saves in goal. 

The Blue and Green were the first strike in the opening quarter after a caused turnover by Gulls junior defender Lucas Paratore (Wenham, Mass.) led to a McCormack goal down the other end, with an assist to sophomore midfielder Jeremy Morgan (Lake Panamoka, N.Y.).  The Ducks responded, however, with five straight goals to take a 5-1 advantage with 4:42 remaining in the quarter. 

On the ensuing faceoff won by Endicott's Sam Ozycz (Cheshire, Conn.), who successfully converted 20 of his 32 attempts, the Gulls were able to gain possession and eventually score on Pinciaro's first goal on another assist from Morgan.  Ozycz again won the next faceoff and less than a minute later, Cotter scored to make it a two-goal game.  Stevens scored two goals over the final 1:37 of the opening quarter to lead 7-3. 

Trailing 8-3 in the second quarter, goals by Tordik and Weber, from senior midfielder Brendan Hunter (Medford, Mass.), again helped Endicott claw back to within three.  Stevens again went on another run, this time a six-goal run that lasted until the 9:49 mark of the third quarter when Pinciaro beat the keeper to make it 14-6. 

Stevens continued to keep any Endicott momentum subdued en route to the 21-9 victory.

Defensively for the Gulls, Paratore along with sophomore defender Chris Cooney (Cranston, R.I.) each had two caused turnovers.  Ozycz scooped up 10 groundballs followed by seven from Hunter.  In 10 minutes between the pipes, freshman goalie Nick Triano (North Andover, Mass.) allowed one fourth quarter goal with one save.   

Fourteen caused turnovers, including six by sophomore defender Brian Fahy (Eastchester, N.Y.), were a major factor in 33 team turnovers by Endicott. 

Stevens converted 17-of-19 clear attempts compared to just 9-of-16 for Endicott.  In a highly penalized game, Endicott went 0-for-14 in extra-man opportunities while Stevens scored five times in 15 chances.