WENHAM, Mass.—Senior attacker Ryan Utz (Rochester, N.Y.) scored five times, but it was not enough to wipe away a late five-goal deficit in a 12-10 loss to visiting Eastern Connecticut State. The Warriors had five players who scored two goals each, showcasing an ability to score from anywhere on the offensive end.
 
Gordon drops its second straight non-conference game to begin the season after a tough loss to No. 20 Springfield College in the opener. Eastern Connecticut improves to 1-0 and travels down to Long Island next weekend for a neutral-site game against Oneonta State.
 
The game was defense-oriented from the very start as both goalkeepers showed some tough saves over the course of 60 minutes. Eastern Connecticut had five of the first six shots of the game in five minutes of gameplay, but it was Gordon who would strike first in the sixth minute. Sophomore Nico Manganiello (Peabody, Mass.) fired home a cross from Jake Martin (Watertown, Conn.) to put the Scots on the board.
 
The Warriors evened the score just two minutes later on an unassisted strike from Michael Dellanno (Wakefield, Mass.) with 7:45 to go in the first quarter. Eastern Connecticut made it 2-1 in the 11^th minute with another unassisted score, this one from Kent Tiden (Old Saybrook, Conn.).
 
Only a minute later, it was Gordon who would battle back to knot the game when Roger Evans (Oxford, Pa.) converted on a man-up situation. The game went to the second period tied at two.
 
Carrying over a power play from the first quarter, Liam Murphy (Dover, N.H.) capitalized just 10 seconds into the second quarter to take a 3-2 advantage. Not to be outdone, Utz converted another man-up goal to even the score at three.
 
Gordon took its second lead of the game in the 21^st minute with Utz coming through once again. Evans found Utz curling in front of the net for the easy tap in and a 4-3 lead.
 
The Warriors scored twice in a minute toward the end of the half to take a 5-4 lead heading into the break. Five different Eastern Connecticut players scored a goal in the opening half.
 
Evans scored his second goal of the game and fifth of the season coming out of intermission, but the Warriors locked things down for most of the third period thereafter. Matt Rougeot (Cheshire, Conn.) and Dellano both ripped the twine for their second scores of the game to put the Warriors up by two.
 
Martin came back to bring Gordon within a 7-6 deficit, but the Scots failed to score a goal in the final 10 minutes of the third. East Conn held on to an 8-6 advantage entering the final period.
 
The Warriors opened up a comfortable lead in the fourth quarter, scoring four goals to only one Gordon strike as the game approached the final three minutes. Gordon's Austin Early (Palmyra, Va.) snatched his first career goal in the 57^th minute of regulation to make it a 12-8 game.
 
Utz scored twice in the final two minutes to make things interesting, but ECSU's Blake Smaldone (Hamilton, Mass.) stopped several point-blank chances to preserve the Warrior lead.
 
For the Foes

• Dellano, Tiden, Rougeot, Murphy and Tim Reilly (Hanover, Mass.) each had two goals for the Warriors.
• Dellano had a game-high four points for ECSU by adding two assists.
• Smaldone was impressive in net all day, making 16 saves and adding six groundballs. He also had an incredible assist on a long pass up the middle of the field to start a fast break. The senior had a team-high two caused turnovers

 
For the Scots

• Utz had a big day with five goals and an assist on 14 shot attempts
• Evans also contributed two goals to bring his season total to five
• Peter Kovacevic (Pittsburgh, Pa.) won 15-of-24 face offs and had a game-high 10 groundballs due to those wins
• Cody Greenwald (Albany, N.Y.) finished with 10 saves on the day

 
Quick Stats

• Eastern Connecticut had a 39-24 shot advantage entering the final quarter, but Gordon finished with a 46-44 lead in attempts
• The Scots nearly doubled their shots on goal in the fourth quarter alone, forcing Smaldone into some tough saves
• Smaldone made seven of his 16 saves in the final period
• ECSU was more efficient in clears, going 22-24