LEIGHTON'S LATE TALLY PROPELS PRIDE PAST HAWKS

WESTON, Mass. – Peter Leighton (Wilmington, Mass.) scored with 53 seconds remaining to give Regis an 11-10 victory over host Becker College on Saturday afternoon in non-conference men's lacrosse action in Leicester, Mass. The Pride snap a three game skid and improve to 2-3 this season, while Becker drops to 0-4. Regis goalkeeper Andrew Madden (North Easton, Mass.) picked up his first collegiate win in net for the Pride.

Regis took an early 2-0 lead on a pair of unassisted goals by Billy Stewart (West Roxbury, Mass.) and Chris Campbell (South Hadley, Mass.). Becker responded with two goals of its own to knot it at 2-2 as John DeAngelis (Swampscott, Mass.) found the back of the net when the sophomore was pushed to the ground and shoveled the ball past Madden to make it 2-1. Alex Hurd (Chelmsford, Mass.) tied the game on a pass in front from Joe Ignagni (Kingston, Mass.).

The second quarter was all Regis as they took a commanding 7-2 lead by outscoring the Hawks 5-0 in the period and holding the Hawks to just one shot attempt. Billy Stewart and Andrew Haddon (Nantucket, Mass.) each scored twice in the frame, while John Basbas (Framingham, Mass.) recorded the other goal.

Coming out of the half, Becker's Alex Hurd scored back-to-back goals only 1:05 apart to make it a 7-4 game with 8:55 showing on the clock. John Basbas scored on a pass from Leighton and then the freshman scored a goal of his own on a feed from Chris Campbell to push the Pride lead back to 9-4. Alex Hurd would score one more time for the Hawks in the period to make it a 9-5 contest headed into the final quarter.

Joe Ignani began the charge for the Hawks as he scored a pair of goals to open the period. The first came on a two-man advantage for Becker that made it a 9-6 game. Following a shot from DeAngelis that caromed off the post, Ignani scooped up the groundball and rocketed a shot past the Regis keeper to make it only a 9-7 game. Billy Stewart stopped the bleeding for the Pride with his fourth tally of the game, but Becker's Alex Rossman (Newington, Conn.) found the back of the net in a man down situation to cut the deficit back to two goals.

Becker's Jeff Petersen (Syracuse, N.Y.) then scored back-to-back goals a mere 17 seconds apart to knot the game at 10-all headed into the game's final minute. Regis won the ensuing face off and then raced up field before calling a timeout. Out of the break, Chris Campbell came from behind the net and found an open Leighton, who cranked a shot top-shelf and gave Regis an 11-10 lead.

Stephan Bottex (Norwood, Mass.) won the next faceoff and Regis tried to play keep away for the final 50-plus seconds. A late turnover with only 12 seconds remaining gave Becker one more shot, but Mark Zabicki's (Enfield, Conn.) field length pass was batted down as the time counted down to zero, giving the Pride the victory.

Regis outshot the Hawks at a 52-34 clip while also holding a 42-35 advantage in groundballs. Becker was more efficient on the man-advantage however, going 4-for-8 with an extra attacker while Regis was just 3-for-12.

Regis' Andrew Madden picked up his first collegiate win while making eight saves and grabbing five groundballs. Michael Munoz (Avon, Conn.) suffered the setback for the Hawks, making 11 saves in defeat.

Billy Stewart scored a team high four goals and picked up three ground balls in the win. Andrew Haddon, Leighton and John Basbas added two goals apiece with Chris Campbell adding one score. In addition to the game-winning-goal, Leighton added a game-high three assists and game-high eight groundballs. Chris Costello (Edgartown, Mass.) and Chris Campbell also added two assists each. Defensively, Andrew Goldberg (Solebury, Mass.) posted five cause turnovers to go with a pair of groundballs and Stephan Bottex went 11-for-19 on faceoffs and added four groundballs in the win.

For Becker, Alex Hurd led the team with four goals. Jeff Petersen and Joe Ignani added two goals each with John DeAngelis and Rossman rounding out the scoring. DeAngelis, Ignani, and Stephen Elliott (Windsor, Conn.) each tallied a pair of assists. Shane Balestacci (Pawtucket, Conn.) grabbed a team-high seven groundballs while Patrick Bellew (Newington, Conn.) and Mark Zabicki added two caused turnovers apiece.

The Crimson and Gold return to action on Wednesday night when they travel to Emmanuel College for a 7:00 p.m. matchup with the Saints. Becker continues the search for its first win of the season when the Hawks host Mitchell College on Tuesday afternoon at 4:00 p.m.