UMass Avenges Sacred Heart Loss
from press release
AMHERST, Mass. - The UMass lacrosse team began
the 2009 season with a rousing 15-6 win over Sacred Heart at a
chilly Garber Field on Saturday. Senior captain Tim Balise scored
three goals and added two assists for five points while four others
scored two goals for the Minutemen (1-0). Senior Evan Blum, junior
Bobby Hayes, sophomore Ryan Marcus and senior Rory Pedrick all
scored twice. Marcus was one of four Minutemen to score their
first-career goals along with senior Joe Reale, sophomore Casey
Rahn and freshman Anthony Biscardi.
UMass avenged last season's 9-7 loss to the Pioneers (0-1) and the
Minutemen pumped up 50 shots for the second year in a row against
Sacred Heart. On Saturday, UMass outshot SHU, 51-22. Senior captain
Doc Schneider made seven saves for the Minutemen in the nets.
Sacred Heart's Timmy Katz had a hat trick for the Pioneers in the
defeat.
With the game tied 3-3 early in the second quarter, UMass ripped
off the final four goals of the second period to take a commanding
7-3 halftime lead and led the rest of the game. Redshirt senior
Pedrick, playing his first game in two seasons after a knee injury
forced him to miss all of last season, scored back-to-back goals.
Pedrick ripped a shot to the high right corner to give the
Minutemen a 4-3 lead with 9:23 left in the second quarter. He then
took a feed from Jim Connolly and cut down the middle for a 5-3
edge with 5:58 left in the second. Marcus and Connolly (on an
extra-man goal) added tallies to close out the quarter with a
four-goal bulge.
Sacred Heart did score the first two goal of the third quarter to
cut the lead to 7-5, but UMass scored seven unanswered goals
bridging the third and fourth quarter. UMass was up 14-5 until
Pioneer Timmy Katz broke up the scoring run with 6:34 left in the
game.
During the 7-0 run in the second half, Balise scored all of his
three goals in the game. Balise also set up senior captain Reale
for his first-career tally with 6:24 left in the third quarter.
That goal gave UMass a 9-5 lead. After that goal, Balise scored the
next two goals in the span of four minutes for an 11-5 lead. Hayes
took a feed from Pedrick for an extra-man goal with 24 seconds left
in the third.
Biscardi scored his first-career goal to open the fourth quarter
and Balise got the hat trick with 7:19 left in the fourth for the
14-5 lead. Sophomore long-pole Rahn scored his first career goal
and full-field rush with 6:25 left in the fourth.
Sacred Heart and UMass played an even first quarter with Evan
Morgan opening the season's scoring 3:42 into the game. Hayes and
Blum scored consecutive goals to give UMass a 2-1 lead on a 3-yard
dunk shot.
UMass continues its season next Saturday Hofstra against the No. 13
Pride on Long Island at 1 p.m.
