Rindge, N.H. (3/29/22) – Despite the cold afternoon at Sodexo Field, men's lacrosse had no issues heating things up with an explosive offensive outing against AIC, overwhelming the Yellowjackets by a final score of 20-5. Five different players had multi-point afternoons, with attackers Stephen Ell (Peabody, MA) and Caleb Ikkela (Onset, MA) leading the way, scoring four goals each in the victory.

Men's lacrosse jumps to 5-1 on the season with the home win, as the Yellowjackets dip to 1-7.

The Ravens jumped to an early lead 3:28 into the contest, with sophomore midfielder Conor Rooney (Wilmington, MA) opening the scoring off a feed from Owen McCormack (Hampstead, N.H.). McCormack and Rooney would end up connecting again with under five minutes to play in the first, after Caleb Ikkela scored back-to-back goals, and then once more at the 2:04 mark with McCormack scoring the goal to complete a multi-point first quarter for the pair.

With a 5-1 lead in hand over AIC, Caleb Ikkela returned for more 4:48 into the second quarter for his third goal of the afternoon, sparking what would become a shut-out period for the Ravens. Just over three minutes later, Stephen Ell extended the lead to 7-1 corralling a pass from Ikkela, sending a shot past the AIC netminder.

The Yellowjackets pushed back in the third quarter, scoring four goals after being shut-out in the second, with two unanswered goals coming within the first three minutes. Returning the favor, graduate student Josh Dorr (Brunswick, ME) found the back of the net for his second goal of the afternoon, sparking a 3-0 run for the Ravens. Dorr would also manage two assists the rest of the quarter, on goals from McCormack and Ikkela to propel the ravens to a 13-5 score in the final quarter.

The fourth brought some fresh faces on to the scene, as well as some career firsts. Sophomore Connor McCormack (Hampstead, N.H.) collected his first collegiate goal, as well as his first point since April 10^th, 2021 which was also against AIC. Freshman Christian Campbell (North Providence, R.I.), in his first collegiate appearance, also scored his first career goal, with the Ravens potting seven additional goals in the fourth to close out the 20-5 triumph.

Goaltender Nathan Taylor (Danville, N.H.) posted his fifth win of the season, making 3 saves on 4 total shots faced. Junior Tim Perlin (Swampscott, MA) and freshman Mike Masterpolo (Kingston, MA) also saw some playing time this afternoon, with Perlin facing 4 total shots while making 1 save, and Masterpolo turning away 6 out of 7.

Men's lacrosse will hit the road for their next matchup against Saint Anselm, coming up on Wednesday April 6^th at 7 PM E.T.