THE BASICS:
- Score: No. 2 Merrimack 22, No. 19 Assumption 7
- Records: Merrimack (11-1, 9-0 NE10, Assumption (8-5, 5-4 NE10)
- Location: North Andover, Mass. (Duane Stadium)
- The Lead: Defending national champion Merrimack outscored 19th ranked Assumption 9-1 in the second quarter on the way to a 22-7 victory over the Hounds on Tuesday evening in NE10 action.
HOW IT HAPPENED:
- Merrimack opened the scoring less than two minutes into the contest and made it 2-0 through five minutes of play. The Warriors added two more goals in the period for a 4-0 lead after one. They stretched their lead to 7-0 before Travis Reid (Raynham, Mass. / Bridgewater Raynham) put Assumption on the board with 8:16 left in the half. Merrimack added six more goals over the final seven minutes for a 13-1 lead through 30 minutes.
- The teams traded goals over the first five minutes of the third, followed by an Anthony D'Angelo (Grafton, Mass. / Grafton) goal at 8:37 to make it 14-3. Merrimack answered with three straight goals to stretch its lead to 17-3 and push its advantage to 19-4 at the end of the third. Each team scored three times over the final 15 minutes, including a Brett Jennings (Montgomery, N.Y. / Valley Central) goal with 3:05 left for a 22-7 final.
INSIDE THE NUMBERS:
- Merrimack outshot Assumption 52-25 in the contest while picking up eight more ground balls (38-30). The Hounds were 18-for-22 on the clear but only won 11 of 31 face-offs.
- Reid led the Assumption offense with two goals and one assist as Trevor Wilcox (Somers, Conn. / East Catholic) also scored twice. Owen Peterson III (Westchester, N.Y. / Westlake) dished off an assist and came up with a team-high seven ground balls while Aidan Tefft (Franklin, Mass. / Xaverian Brothers) had four ground balls and two caused turnovers.
- Senior Colby Hamwey (West Yarmouth, Mass. / Wilbraham & Monson) took the loss in net as he made 15 saves but allowed 21 goals in 57 minutes. Nick Ponte earned the win in net as he allowed just four goals while stopping nine shots.
UP NEXT:
- Assumption returns to action on Saturday when the team travels to face Saint Anselm at 12 p.m.
STAY CONNECTED:
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