03/21/2009
Lacrosse Defeated by UMass-Dartmouth, 10-4

NORTH DARTMOUTH, MA - Clark University's men's lacrosse team was defeated by the University of Massachusetts Dartmouth, 10-4, in a non-conference match at Cressy Field Saturday afternoon.

The Corsairs got on top early, as senior midfielder Matt Swirbalus (Weymouth, MA/Weymouth HS) scored on UMD's first shot of the game, with 12:49 to go in the first quarter. Senior attackman Matt Leary (Framingham, MA/Framingham HS) made it 2-0 just over four minutes later before Clark senior attackman Shawn Roche (Centerport, NY/Harborfields HS) scored at 6:08 to make it 2-1. UMass Dartmouth got a goal from junior attackman Andrew Foster (Newbury, MA/Danvers HS) and two more from Swirbalus to take a 5-1 lead into the second quarter.

Roche and junior midfielder Chris Adams (Bradford, NH/Kearsarge Regional HS) scored the first two goals of the second quarter to bring the Cougars to within 5-3 before Leary scored with 5:08 remaining to give the Corsairs a 6-3 halftime advantage.

UMass Dartmouth broke the game open with four goals in the third period. Leary, Foster, sophomore midfielder Josh Arsenault (Revere, MA/Malden Catholic HS) and senior midfielder Steve Colella (Wakefield, MA/ Wakefield HS) scored to give the Corsairs a 10-3 lead heading into the fourth quarter.

Clark sophomore Danny Heelan (Avon, CT/Avon HS) was the only scorer in the fourth period to account for the final score.

Roche led the Cougars with two goals. Senior Drew Silverman (Nashua, NH/Nashua HS) won 12-of-18 faceoffs and collected two groundballs.

Leary led the way for UMD with three goals and two assists, while Swirbalus scored three goals, Foster added two, and Arsenault had a goal and an assist.

UMass Dartmouth out shot Clark, 31-23. Senior goalkeeper Tyler Campbell (Portland, OR/Lincoln HS) made 10 saves for the Cougars, while Crown made eight and freshman Kevin Pelsinski (Merrimack, NH/Merrimack HS) made three for UMD.

Clark dropped to 0-5 with the defeat, while the Corsairs improved to 2-3 with the victory.

The Cougars will visit the University of New England Tuesday (4 pm).

Courtesy of UMass-Dartmouth Sports Information