It may not be March anymore, but the madness has arrived for the Commonwealth Coast Conference (CCC) men’s lacrosse tournament. This past Saturday, April 28, the sixth-seeded Roger Williams University men’s lacrosse team marched into Walter M. Katz Field in Milton, Massachusetts to deliver a 12-10 win over the third-seeded Curry College Colonels.  

At first, the Colonels looked like they had the game in their control as they jumped out to an early 4-0 lead by the 6:09 mark of the first quarter.  However, the Hawks eventually got on the board at the 2:29 mark thanks to a goal from sophomore attacker Jude Marzec off the assist from senior Justin MacIntyre. The Hawks also scored the final goal of the quarter by freshman attacker Jared Grier with seven seconds left off a helper from freshman midfielder Gabe Reale to cut the deficit to 4-2 by the end of the first quarter.

The Hawks continued with the momentum through the second quarter, recording the only two goals of the quarter entering into halftime tied at 4. 

As the third quarter began, the onslaught of goals by the Hawks continued. The Hawks fired the first three goals with two from junior midfielder Chris Bova and the other from MacIntyre to push the lead to 7-4 with 9:48 left in the frame. Curry responded with nine minutes left in the quarter and the teams ended act No. 3 trading goals to bring the score to 8-6.

The Hawks were not phased at the start of the fourth quarter as they rattled off another quick three goals with two goals going to Marzec and the third to Mullane. The Colonels answered back with a three-goal spurt, as well. 

Eventually, the Hawks pulled out the upset win as the teams traded goals over the last five minutes drawing the score at the end of regulation to a 12-10 mark. 

“I feel they actually stuck together amongst themselves all season which is nice,” said Hawks Head Coach Marty Kelly. “It has been kind of a rocky season being such a young team and we had some losses we probably should’ve, could’ve won and they just stuck together. That’s what I was happy about in the Curry game. The first time we let them get away, then we got a chance in the playoffs and and we just really stuck together. That’s what I’m most proud of.”

Unfortunately, the Hawks’ ride came to an end on Tuesday in the CCC semifinals against the Endicott College Gulls at Hempstead Stadium in Beverly, Massachusetts. 

Endicott controlled the opening half of the contest as they scored five of their eight total goals. However, the Hawks did not bow early in the first half as Reale scored an unassisted goal at the 1:19 mark of the first quarter. Bova also attributed to the scoreboard with an unassisted goal coming at the 3:06 mark of the second quarter to send the Hawks into the half trailing 5-2. 

Despite the deficit, the Hawks opened up the second half with a sense of urgency, putting up three goals in the third quarter all while holding the Gulls to zero goals. Grier scored two consecutive goals within a five-minute span, while Tim Mullane added a goal at the 3:16 mark off an assist from Peter Navarro. 

The two teams entered the final period tied at 5. 

Endicott added three goals to their score in the fourth quarter, starting at the 11:54 mark. The Hawks were unable to overcome the deficit as the final seconds ticked off the clock.

Freshman defenseman Jacob Wechsler complimented his captains for their role in a successful season.

“I am very proud of the leadership of the captains and the respect they have for each individual on the team.” Wechsler said. “They bring a positive attitude each day and they motivate us to continuously get better.”

The Hawks ended their season at 9-8 as they graduate a senior class of four. Endicott will go on to face Western New England University on Friday, May 4 for a shot at the CCC Championship title.