Sports

Mitchell Lacrosse Holds On To Lead

Mariners defeat Anna Maria College

Mitchell College held a narrow victory over Anna Maria College on Tuesday. The following information was provided by David Longolucco, sports information director at Mitchell:

The Mitchell College men’s lacrosse team scored the only goal of the second half and held on for a 3-2 victory over Anna Maria College in a Tuesday afternoon tilt at New London High School.

Junior Adam Grillo (Waterford, Conn./Waterford) scored the game-winning goal on an unassisted effort with 5:55 to play in the contest. Freshman Peter Eshenfelder (Quaker Hill, Conn./Waterford) made the margin stand in goal and finished with a game-high 20 saves. Freshmen Shane Sullivan (Quaker Hill, Conn./Waterford) and Erik Vasquez (Oceanside, Calif./El Camino) also added scores for the Mariners (2-0 overall), who have already equaled their win total from last season.

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Anna Maria (1-4 overall) held a 37-22 advantage in shots and a 47-26 edge in ground balls. Mike Saulnier (Wrentham, Mass./King Phillip) and Rodrigo Henriques (Saugus, Mass./Saugus) each finished with a goal apiece while Andrew Ellis (Fitchburg, Mass./St. Bernard’s) turned away seven shots between the pipes.

Mitchell got on the scoreboard first on a man-up goal from Sullivan off a feed by Grillo with 2:13 remaining in the first quarter. Vasquez added another score early in the second quarter to give the Mariners a 2-0 edge.

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Anna Maria answered back quickly, scoring on a shot by Saulnier with 10:21 to go in the half. Henriques then knotted the game at 2-2 with 6:43 to play in the stanza on an extra-man opportunity. The AMCATS nearly took the lead in the final minute of the half thanks to a Mitchell penalty. Anna Maria had a man advantage for the final 57 seconds but came up empty on five shot attempts, two of which hit the post.

The third quarter yielded no scoring as both teams buckled down on the defensive end. Grillo finally broke through late in the fourth quarter by ripping a shot in traffic to put the Mariners up 3-2.

A penalty on Mitchell with 1:10 to play gave Anna Maria one last extra-man opportunity. The AMCATS took two shots at the goal but came up empty on each, and the Mariners were able to send the ball down the field to run off some clock. Anna Maria regained possession with 27 seconds remaining but turned the ball over on its final possession.

Anna Maria attempted 14 shots in the second half and put 11 on goal, all of which were stopped by Mitchell’s rookie net minder. The Mariners finished the game 1-for-5 on extra-man opportunities and successfully killed five out of six penalties.

Mitchell will next host Becker College at New London High School on Saturday, March 19 at 1 p.m. Anna Maria returns to action at home against Wheelock College on Friday, March 18 at 5 p.m.


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