BRISTOL, R.I. – The Roger Williams University Men's Lacrosse team defeated the Leopards of Wentworth Institute of Technology on Tuesday evening to round out their March slate, in a key Conference of New England (CNE) matchup, 12-11, on Bayside Field.
The Hawks were outshot 49-35 in the game, while the Leopards put 23 shots on net to the Hawks' 21. Wentworth went 19-for-21 in clear attempts, while the Hawks went 17-27, falling 34-20 in the ground ball battle to the Leopards. Wentworth took 18 of the 27 total faceoffs in the tilt.
The Hawks were paced by Carter Shelton (Castle Rock, Colo.), who tallied seven points with four goals and three assists. Caleb McKeown (Plymouth, Mass.) tallied five goals in the game, while Reece Moore (Marblehead, Mass.) and Connor Russell (West Hartford, conn.) each added a goal, with Moore also dishing out three assists.
Defensively, Kyle Zirn (Chester, N.H.) had six ground balls and four caused turnovers in the contest, while Matt Whitaker (Bridgewater, Mass.) had a pair of caused turnovers and four ground balls. David Rizzo (Methuen, Mass.) had five ground balls, going 9-for-23 on faceoff attempts.
The Leopards saw four players with two points as Tony Corrado and Tyler Longo each scored a pair of goals, while Chuck Urda had two assists. Wentworth had nine different goal scorers. Keegan Buffa led the team with eight ground balls with a 16-for-23 performance in faceoffs. Urda had two caused turnovers with six ground balls on the day in the loss.
Corrado led off the game with a goal for the Leopards just 49 seconds into the contest, before McKeown tallied back-to-back goals for the Hawks with Shelton earning the assists on both, taking a 2-1 lead. The Hawks used the two goals to expand their lead to five, scoring six straight goals to end the first quarter, with a 6-1 lead.
Wentworth took command in the second as Colin Blackburn tallied his goal with 12 seconds into the frame, before the Hawks answered as Moore tallied his first of the game. The Leopards then rattled off five straight goals to end the half, taking a 7-7 game into the half.
Opening the third quarter, Shelton tallied a goal, ahead of McKeown scoring his fourth of the day. Shelton then tallied his fourth, and second in the quarter, giving the Hawks a 10-7 lead heading into the final frame.
Trailing by three into the fourth quarter, Jake Caraluzzi scored 40 seconds into the frame, with Longo and Brendan Kroll each scoring to level the score at 10-10. The Hawks answered with Russell striking for his third goal of the season with 7:24 remaining, and was followed by a goal by McKeown with 5:19 remaining in regulation. The Leopards saw Longo strike for the 17th time on the season, with 3:16 remaining, but were unable to level the score, falling by one goal.
Roger Williams (4-7, 2-1 CNE) will travel to face Western New England on Friday, Apr. 3, at 7:00 pm in Springfield. The Hawks will then host Nichols on Wednesday, Apr. 8, before Senior Day on Saturday, Apr. 11.
