LEICESTER, Mass. -- Mount Ida College got themselves in the win column for men's lacrosse with a 7-5 non-conference victory on Saturday afternoon at Becker's Alumni Field. The win evens the Mustangs record a 1-1 while the Hawks remain winless at 0-3.
Blake Boutiette (Burrillville, R.I.) gave Becker a 1-0 lead just 35 seconds into the game with his fifth goal of the season. Mount Ida tied the game with five minutes remaining in the first quarter on a Jon Berry (Chichester, N.H.) goal. With 1:41 remaining in the opening quarter, Daniel Johnson (Plymouth, Mass.) fed Ryan Kearney (Katonah, N.Y.) for his second maker of year to give the Hawks a 2-1 advantage.
After Blake Boutiette gave Becker a 3-1 lead with the opening goal of the second, Mount Ida went on to score five unanswered goals over the next two quarters to go in front 6-3. Marcus Donahue (Braintree, Mass.) and Stralka each had a pair of goals on the run with a Peter Hardy (Tyngsboro, Mass.) tally mixed in.
Ryan Kearney brought the Hawks within striking distance when he opened the fourth quarter with an unassisted goal, but Stralka sealed the win for the Mustangs when he completed the hat-trick with 5:57 remaining in regulation to re-gain the three goal cushion for Mount Ida. Becker's Cruz Desrochers (Malden, Mass.) tallied his first goal of the season with six seconds left to make the final 7-5.
Steven Koziski (Peabody, Mass.) led the defensive effort with a pair of caused turnovers, and Alex Zito (Marlboro, Conn.) won five draws, though he was outmatched by Becker's Bryan Parsons (Shrewsbury, Mass.), who went 9-14 at the dot.
Jordan Mudd (Decatur, Ga.) suffered the loss after turning away 13 shots in the Becker goal.
Mount Ida will head to UMass Dartmouth on Wednesday, March 9th at 4:00 p.m. for their third straight non-conference away game.
Becker will try to end their three game skid when they travel to UMass Boston on Tuesday, March 8that 4:30 p.m.