WORCESTER, MASS. 03/31/09 - The Clark University men's lacrosse team lost to Plymouth State University, 12-8, in a non-conference game played at Granger Field on Tuesday night.
The Cougars (2-7) had their two-game win streak snapped with the loss. Plymouth wins its second straight and improved to 2-3 on the year.
Senior Shawn Roche (Centerport, N.Y.) led Clark's attack with five goals and had two assists. He now has a team-leading 18 goals this season. Freshman Chris Johnson (Amherst, Mass.) added a pair of goals and two assists, while sophomore Eugene Arsenault (South Portland, Maine) tallied a single goal.
Plymouth was led by senior Dan Maiorana (Walpole, Mass.) with three goals. Seven other Panthers found the back of the net, including juniors Brian Giroux (Wolfeboro Falls, N.H.) and Derick Smith (New London, N.H.), who scored two goals each.
Clark raced out to a 3-1 lead after the first quarter, but the Panthers outscored the hosts, 3-0, in the second period to take a 4-3 advantage into the break.
PSU then extended its lead to 7-3 with three unanswered goals midway through the third period. After Arsenault notched a goal at the 5:58 mark of the quarter to trail 7-4, Clark failed to get within three goals the remainder of the game.
Sophomore Tim Roche (Centerport, N.Y.) scooped up a game-high eight groundballs to lead Clark defensively. Senior Tyler Campbell (Portland, Ore.) made a season-high 18 saves in goal.
Sophomore Kevin Hayes (Beverly, Mass.) stopped five shots for Plymouth.
Clark will travel to Springfield College on Saturday (3 p.m.).