Leading by two scores with 11:26 remaining in the game, the Mount Ida College men's lacrosse team surrendered four goals in the final quarter falling 7-6 against hosting non-conference Curry College in the Mustangs season opener in the first annual Frostbite Classic Wednesday afternoon in Milton, Massachusetts. This is the first time Mount Ida has fallen to the Colonel's since 2003 when Curry captured a 9-7 victory. The Mustangs fall to 0-1 on the season and have yet to play a North Atlantic Conference (NAC) game while the hosts improve to 1-0.
Mount Ida took an early 2-0 lead on goals from senior Brandon Keith (Barnstable, MA/Barnstable) and junior Matthew Savage (Peabody, MA/Peabody). Curry was able to cut the lead in the first quarter on a goal by Russell Lanham. Lanham's first-quarter goal would be the only goal for Curry College in the first half. Mount Ida went into halftime with a 4-1 lead behind second-quarter goals from Savage and Nick Yacuzzi (Oakham, MA/St. John's).
Momentum swung back and forth between the two teams in the third quarter. With 2:50 remaining in the frame, Curry was able to start its comeback with a goal by Michael Snyder. A minute later, Evan Hammersley tallied for the hosts. By the end of the third, Mount Ida's three-goal lead was narrowed to one.
Both teams decided to save their best lacrosse for the fourth quarter. Yacuzzi was able to stretch the Mustangs' lead back to two goals with his second score of the game giving Mount Ida a two goal advantage at the 11:26 mark.
The lead did not last for long as the Colonels answered with three goals of their own. Hammersley, Paul Marchese, and Nicholas Haidemenos gave Curry a one-goal lead with 6:27 left in the game.
Christopher Prophete (Waltham, MA/Waltham) then tied the game for Mount Ida with just less than five minutes to go in regulation. Finally at the 1:28 mark, Hammersley broke the deadlock by putting the Colonels on top, 7-6 with a well placed shot.
Mount Ida gave one last push, but goaltender Michael Hibbard was able to shut the door and preserve the season-opening victory and Frostbite Classic title.
The Mustangs were led by newcomer Yacuzzi with two goals and two assists, although he took the most shots (10) all day for his team. Savage tallied two goals while Keith and Prophete each added one score a piece. Mount Ida had a lot of trouble gaining possession in the middle circle losing 13 out of 17 chances in face-offs. The Mustangs also struggled in the groundball game with 28 while the Colonel's managed 44.
Sophomore goaltender Jimmy McAllister (Smithfield, RI/LaSalle Academy) played well making it difficult for the opposition to score denying 26 shots while Hibbard made 14 saves for Curry. The attack killed the Mustangs unable to produce enough offense taking on 32 overall shots with the hosts firing 48.
The Mustangs will continue their non-conference action this coming Saturday traveling to UMASS-Dartmouth starting at 1:00 p.m.