DUDLEY, Mass. (April 21) – Led by five goals from junior Austin Healy (Westford, Mass.), the Nichols College men’s lacrosse team defeated Anna Maria, 13-10, in a The Commonwealth Coast Conference game Wednesday night on Vendetti Field. The win marks the third-straight for the Bison, who improve to 5-9 overall and 2-7 in TCCC games with their first three-game win streak since 2004. Anna Maria drops to 4-11 overall and 1-8 in TCCC action after losing its sixth-straight game.
Classmate Ryan Pacific (Danbury, Conn.) added a goal and four assists, while Brad O’Brien (Danbury, Conn.) chipped in with three goals for the Bison.
Nikolas Langlois scored four times and added an assist for the AMCATS, while Luke Biggins and Rodrigo Henriques each had three points with two goals and an assist.
Healy opened the scoring less than four minutes into the game, but three-straight Anna Maria goals gave the visitors a 3-0 lead by the end of the opening quarter.
Nichols responded with an overpowering second-quarter effort, outscoring the AMCATS, 5-0, on three goals by Healy and a pair from O’Brien to take control of the game, 6-3, by halftime.
Jason Baker (Billerica, Mass.) scored on the first possession of the third to bring the AMCATS within two, but Steve Delahanty (Auburn, N.H.) capped a three-goal run by the Bison in less than two and a half minutes to give the home team its largest lead of the game, 9-4, at 10:51.
By the start of the fourth quarter, Nichols held onto a four-goal lead and the teams traded goals through the frame with the AMCATS getting the last say on a Matt Lochner score with 1:06 left.
Scott Gray (Annapolis, Md.) made 14 saves in the win, while Andrew Ellis made six to take the loss.
The AMCATS held a 46-29 shot advantage in the game, but the Bison won the groundball battle with a 44-43 edge. Nichols finished 2-for-5 with the man advantage, while holding Anna Maria scoreless in six attempts.
Nichols closes out the regular season Saturday in a 1 p.m. TCCC game at University of New England. Anna Maria hosts Western New England College for its season finale Saturday at 2 p.m.
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