Men's Lacrosse Subdues Gordon, 13-9, For First Victory Of 2009

BOX SCORE

BABSON PARK, Mass. - Senior E.J. Peterson (Framingham, Mass.) led all players with nine points and senior captain Max Owen (Hamilton, N.J.) made 17 second-half saves in net as the Babson College Beavers notched their first win of 2009 with a 13-9 victory over visiting Gordon College in a non-conference men's lacrosse contest at MacDowell Field on Saturday afternoon. Babson is now 1-4 on the season, while the Fighting Scots drop to 0-3.

Peterson recorded six goals and three assists for nine points to go along with five groundballs for Babson, while senior captain Bryan Wilbur (Hingham, Mass.) added one goal and three assist for four points. Senior captain Max Artz (Gates Mills, Ohio) and sophomore Ryan Kucinski (Cohasset, Mass.) also picked up five GBs apiece, while first-year Cam Caruso (St. Charles, Ill.) collected six more. Both of the Beavers' goalies played well in net, as sophomore Mike Saucier (Nashua, N.H.) stopped four shots while allowing only three scores in the first half and Owen made 17 saves while giving up only six goals in the second.

Sophomore Dan Utz (Rochester, N.Y.) accounted for four of Gordon's nine goals, while sophomore Jordan MacIntosh (Oakville, Ontario) and junior Danny Mack (Columbus, Ohio) added two goals apiece. Junior Joel Derechinshy led the Fighting Scots with 11 groundballs and 14 faceoff wins, while sophomore Stuart Knechtle New Canaan, Conn.) chipped in with 10 groundballs. Senior Mark Merullo (Ramsey, N.J.) went the distance in net for Gordon, making 12 saves.

Babson took control of the contest early on, scoring four unanswered goals to start the game. Gordon would cut its deficit in half with back-to-back scores later in the period, as the Beavers took a 4-2 lead after one. The two teams then traded goals in the first seven minutes of the second quarter before Peterson and senior Matt Enright (Bristol, R.I.) netted consecutive scores to give Babson a 7-3 cushion heading into the half.

The Beavers continued to add to their lead in the third quarter, as Peterson assisted Caruso on a goal at 11:55 and later scored one of his own at 4:16. Utz answered with two straight goals in the final four minutes for the Fighting Scots, trimming Babson's advantage to 9-5 heading into the final quarter.

The hosts once again scored first in the fourth, as Peterson and sophomore Andrew Packer (Hudson, Ohio) each netted man-up goals to make it 11-5. Gordon would fight back with 13 shots on goal the rest of the way, but Owen would stop nine of them as part of a spectacular 11-save quarter. The Fighting Scots twice got to within five against the Beavers' senior captain and then pulled to within four with back-to-back scores in the final two minutes, but that would be all Owen would allow as Babson came away with the 13-9 victory.