Springfield, Mass. - April 25, 2018 - Behind a career-best eight points from junior attackman Jack Vail (Franklin, Mass.), the Springfield College men's lacrosse team defeated Clark University, 18-5, in New England Women's and Men's Athletic Conference (NEWMAC) play on Wednesday evening at Stagg Field.

Additionally, senior attackman Tom Hurley (Goffstown, N.H.) became the 19th men's lacrosse student-athlete in program history to reach the 100-goal plateau, and first since Bryce Serriello '15 notched his 100th-career goal in a 13-7 win over Clark on April 22, 2015. 

Springfield College, winners of its last four games, improves to 10-5 overall and 5-1 in league play, while Clark is now 8-6 on the year with a 3-3 mark against conference foes. The Pride held a 58-28 shot advantage over 60 minutes of play, as the maroon and white also picked up 41 ground balls compared to Clark's 15. 

Along with Vail's eight points, Hurley added three and two assists, while Cameron Glover (Brunswick, Maine), Matt Allen (Chevy Chase, Md.) and Duncan Preston (South Portland, Maine) each finished with three points in the win. Defensively, Connor Eschmann (Wrentham, Mass.) caused three turnovers and had three ground balls, while Matt D'Andrea (Cheshire, Conn.) and Noah Rouleau (Saint Albans, Vt.) combined to go 20-for-26 at the face-off "x". Rouleau and Chris Cunnington (Yorktown Heights, N.Y.) each picked up a game-high six ground balls.

Clark was led by Will Mandracchia (Melrose, Mass.), who had a pair of goals, while brother Jack Mandracchia (Melrose, Mass.) dished out both assists. Nathan Maselek (Marblehead, Mass.) made nine saves in 44:58 of play, before Thomas Berzok (East Brunswick, N.J.) came on in relief and chipped in three stops.

It took until late in the first quarter for either side to break through, but after a successful clear, Joe Hawley (Poulsbo, Wash.) found a cutting Cunnington, who buried his chance to make it 1-0, before Hurley set up Vail for an on-the-run jump shot marker with 21 seconds to play in the frame, giving the Pride a 2-0 lead after 15 minutes.

Preston found the back of the net on a feed from Allen just 1:28 into the second quarter, sparking a seven-goal run that pushed the Pride's lead to nine with 6:49 left in the first half. D'Andrea would win the ensuing face-off following Preston's strike before finding Vail on a fast break, who stung a corner to make it 4-0, before the junior recorded an unassisted tally with 11:11 on the clock to make it 5-0.

Following Vail's third of the game, D'Andrea won another draw cleanly, before finding Vail, who snuck a pass across to Hurley for an easy finish to push Springfield College's lead to six. Hurley would strike again on another feed from Vail at the 8:21 mark, before Allen and Hurley wrapped up the Pride's scoring for the half to make it 9-0. Clark got on the board with 5:47 to play in the second quarter on an unassisted goal from Chris Rasco (Huntington, N.Y.).

Clark struck first in the second half on a goal from Jack Pierce (Westborough, Mass.) to cut their deficit to seven, but Glover would find Vail sneaking from "x" for an easy finish at the 10:44 mark to make it 10-2, Pride. After another goal from the Cougars, Vail set up Tommy Nash (Massapequa, N.Y.) for a marker with two seconds to play in the third, giving the hosts an 11-3 edge heading to the fourth quarter.

Sophomore Anthony Sullivan (Westfield, Mass.) found Lucas Habich (Little Silver, N.J.) for a goal just 1:37 into the fourth quarter, but just 42 seconds later the Mandracchia brothers connected to stay within eight of the Pride. After an unassisted goal from Preston with 12:02 to play, Clark managed to find the back of the net, but Springfield College would seal the win with five-straight goals to end the game.

With 8:16 to play, Allen scored unassisted, before Glover followed suit, dodging to score with 4:02 remaining, making it 15-5, Pride. With a man-up advantage, Vail found a wide open Habich in front of the net, who buried a behind-the-back shot to make it 16-5, before Preston and Glover finished off the Cougars with the final two goals of the game.

Springfield College will return to action on Saturday, April 28 when it hosts Wheaton in the Pride's regular-season finale. The game will be played on Stagg Field at 1 p.m.