WENHAM, Mass.—Paced by junior Jake Martin's (Watertown, Conn.) four goals, the Gordon Men's Lacrosse team notched its first win of the 2015 season with a 10-6 triumph over visiting UMass-Dartmouth. The Scots and Corsairs played to a one-score game through three quarters, but the hosts outscored their opponents 3-0 in the final frame to preserve a confidence-boosting win.
 
Gordon's second home event started much like its first, with the Scots scoring in the game's opening minute on an unassisted strike from Martin. Nearly 10 minutes passed before the Scots struck again, but senior Jordan Heckelmann (Colorado Springs, Colo.) converted on the man-up opportunity off a pass from Nico Manganiello (Peabody, Mass.) to put Gordon up two.
 
UMass-Dartmouth found ways to counter the Gordon attack with spurts of scoring on its own accord. Two minutes after Heckelmann's goal, DJ Miller (Ashland, Mass.) scored his first collegiate goal on an assist from Riley Baxter (Groton, Mass.). The Corsairs won the impending faceoff, which led to a quick transition attack. Miller found himself with possession just 10 seconds after his first score and finished once again to tie the game at two.
 
Gordon had an answer of its own with a Manganiello finish a half-minute following Miller's second score. The freshman took it by himself from the right corner and found the twine over the shoulder of Corsairs' keeper Matt Lafond (Bridgewater, Mass.).  The Fighting Scots made it 4-2 just before the end of the first period with Manganiello's second goal in as many minutes. Freshman Owenn Geis (Santa Ana, Calif.) led a fast-break opportunity and found Manganiello wide open in front of the net for the easy score.
 
The second quarter became a possession game as each team took their time to get good looks at the net. Both defenses held strong for the first 11 minutes of the quarter until Martin added a man-up goal with 3:35 until the half.
 
True to the first quarter, UMD answered with back-to-back scores to quickly erase the Scots' three-goal cushion. Zach Drolette (Burlington, Vt.) finished a goal off of a Gordon turnover before the Corsairs won the next faceoff and scored again. Tyler Prentice (Chelmsford, Mass.) ended up the ball after a faceoff violation committed by the Scots and gave UMass-Dartmouth some momentum entering the locker room.
 
Following the break, Martin gave the Scots a much-needed shot in the arm with his third unassisted score of the game. Geis extended the lead back to three just minutes later on another fast-break opportunity. The big freshman defender caused a turnover in Gordon's defensive half, scooped up the ball and ran all the way field before catapulting it into the web of the UMD goal. It was his first collegiate score.
 
Connor Gaffney (Andover, Mass.) and Alex Lucas (Brookfield, Mass.) answered boldly for the Corsairs—again with two scores in just a minutes time. Miller picked up an assist on Gaffney's goal to go with his two goals.

Turnovers plagued the Scots in the first three quarters despite possession a one-goal advantage heading into the final period. The Corsairs took advantage of many of Gordon's miscues, especially those committed in the Scots' defensive third of the field.
 
The Fighting Scots played a near flawless final period, turning the ball over only three times and outshooting their opponents, 13-5 in the period. Lafond was sharp in the final period for the Corsairs—knocking away six shots—but the Scots received goals from Heckelmann and Martin at the very start of the quarter to give Gordon a comfortable lead. Roger Evans (Oxford, Pa.) added one in the 52^nd minute to bring the final score to 10-6.
 
UMass-Dartmouth beat the Scots in groundballs and clears in the first half, but Gordon performed better in both categories in the second stanza. Gordon led in groundballs 35-29 for the game, while both teams had similar clear percentages at around 71-percent. The Fighting Scots also converted on three of its five man-up chances, while the Corsairs could only manage one such conversion.
 
Lafond made 10 saves for the game and drew the loss in his first start of the year. Gordon's Cody Greenwald (Albany, N.Y.) made 13 saves, including seven in the third quarter to keep the Scots' lead from getting away. Peter Kovacevic (Pittsburgh, Pa.) led Gordon in groundballs once again with nine. 
 
UMass-Dartmouth (0-1) will travel to Norton, Mass. to take on Wheaton on Tuesday at 4 p.m. Gordon's game schedule with Salem State will be moved to the Brigham Athletic Complex for a 1:30 p.m. start on Tuesday.