AMCATS Drop Heartbreaker to Becker, 12-11 on Senior Night

Paxton, Mass. – Anna Maria College dropped a crucial Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) men's lacrosse match-up to cross town rival Becker College, 12-11 on Tuesday Night at AMCAT Field. Becker senior Jeff Peterson (Syracuse, NY) converted a pass from freshman Cody Leary (Sandwich, Mass.) with twenty-five ticks on the clock to break the 11-11 deadlock and give the Hawks the victory.

With the win, Becker's record moves to 5-10 overall and 4-5 in conference play, while Anna Maria dips to 5-9 and 2-6 GNAC on the season.

In a pre-game ceremony Head Coach Mark Lange celebrated senior day for his eight graduating players. He recognized Chris Summers (Long Valley, NJ), Justin Edson (Epping, NH), David Marsh (Boston, Mass.), Patrick Lewis  (Norwich, Conn.), Mark Sawyer (Gardner, Mass.), Jason Baker (Wilmington, Mass.) and Edmund Gregan (Deep River, Conn.).

The AMCATS were paced by a pair of freshman, Lucas Stralka (East Greenwich, RI) and Scott Henry (Coventry, RI) each contributed five points. Stralka had a hat trick and a pair of helpers while Henry pushed across two goals and dished out three assists. Once again Nathan Batallas (Baldwinville, Mass.) was the backbone of the defense. The sophomore pulled down a game-high fourteen ground balls.

Peterson and sophomore attack David Deschenes (Gales Ferry, Conn.) each tallied five goals for BC. Peterson also had a pair of assists, while midfielder John DeAngelis (Swampscott, Mass.) had a four point night with four assists.

After one complete Anna Maria held a 3-0 lead. David Marsh opened up the scoring and Jason Baker added a pair of markers, while the defense held the Hawks scoreless in the period.

The Hawks wouldn't stay down long, Peterson feed Deschenes for his first of the game then added a pair of his own to tie the game at 3-all with 7:10 remaining in the second stanza. Anna Mara would outscore Becker 2-1 down the stretch to take a 5-4 advantage into intermission.

Becker would notch three straight markers to open the third period and take a 7-5 lead,  their largest of margin of the evening. AMC would respond with a 4-1 run over the next five minutes to regain the lead 9-8 entering the fourth period. Marsh would add his second of the game, Summers would notch his eleventh of the season and roommates Henry and Stralka would tip the twine in the run.

Trailing 9-8, Becker would tie the game with a Deschenes goal at 13:21 to tie the game. AMCAT Batallas' responded with a great play, after causing a Becker turnover at the fifty yard line, the long-stick defender drove the net notching an unassisted goal to put AMC up by one.

Becker would respond with a duo of goals to re-take the lead 11-10 with 4:45 to play. Lucas Stralka would find teammate Henry in the slot with 3:24 remaining for a man-up goal to tie the game for the seventh time at 11-11.

Becker would defend a two-man down power-play, holding the AMCATS to zero shots to then set-up Petersons' heroics.

Anna Maria closes out the season on the road at Emerson College on Saturday afternoon. It is a must-win situation for AMC if they want to qualify for the post-season. Game time is slated for 1:00 pm.