Division I Men :      March 16, 2002 [ The Game Story]
Massachusetts 15 Brown 14 Scoring: Scoring: Chris Fiore Gene Tundo Kevin Leveille Marc Morley Dan Paccione Jeff Zywicki Matt Mcfarland Don Little (3, 2) (2, 1) (2, 1) (3, 0) (1, 1) (2, 0) (1, 0) (1, 0) Jonathon Thompson Jimmy Mormile Chas Gessner Ryan Culligan Brian Miller Michael Hughes Mike Albarelli Chazz Woodson Britton Derkac Matt Kelley Richard Tuohey (2, 2) (3, 1) (2, 1) (2, 1) (1, 1) (2, 0) (1, 0) (1, 0) (0, 1) (0, 1) (0, 1) Saves: Saves: Rob Schneider 4  (0.222) Mike Levin 15  (0.500) Current Record :     (4-1) Current Record :     (1-2) Team Page For 2002 Team Page For 2002       The Game Story: AMHERST, Mass. - Junior All-American midfielder Kevin Leveille (Delmar, N.Y) scored off a feed from junior Chris Fiore (Freeport, N.Y.) with 49 seconds remaining in regulation to lift the University of Massachusetts to a 15-14 victory over Brown in men¹s lacrosse action this afternoon at Richard F. Garber Field. The Minutemen were trailing the Bears, 14-10, with 7:45 left in the fourth quarter, but Massachusetts scored the final five goals of the game to secure the come-from-behind victory. Senior All-American defenseman Matt McFarland (Garden City, N.Y.) began the fourth quarter rally when he scored his first goal of the season just 13 seconds after Brown had taken a 14-10 lead. Fiore then scored to cut the Bears lead to two at the 4:48 mark. Just seven seconds later Leveille scored off a feed from senior Dan Paccione (Amittyville, N.Y.) to bring the Minutemen within one. Sophomore Jeff Zywicki (Nepean, Ontario) tied the game, 14-14, when he scored off a pass from freshman Gene Tundo (Orchard Park, N.Y.) with 3:13 remaining. Leveille then netted the game-winner with under a minute to go in regulation. Brown opened the game by taking a 5-2 lead in the first quarter thanks to a pair of goals from both Michael Huges and Ryan Culligan. The Minutemen held a slight edge in scoring in the second quarter, but still found themselves trailing 7-5 at the half. Tundo had a pair of goals in the half for Massachusetts. Brown scored first in the third quarter to take an 8-5 lead before Massachusetts scored four straight goals. Scoring for the Minutemen in the third quarter run were Fiore, Zywicki, senior Marc Morley (Canton, N.Y.) and senior Don Little (Clifton Park, N.Y.). Brown responded with a four-goal run of its own to regain the lead 12-9 at the 11:46 mark of the fourth quarter. Fiore led the Minutemen with three goals and two assists in the game, while Morley also recorded a hat trick. Jimmy Mormile led Brown with three goals and an assist, while Jon Thompson has two goals and two assists. Mike Levin made 15 saves in the cage for the Bears, while senior Rob Schneider (Huntington Station, N.Y.) made four saves and allowed 14 goals before being pulled in favor of freshman Bill Schell (Mahopac, N.Y.) with 7:45 remaining in the game. Massachusetts returns to action on Wednesday, March 20, in a 1:00 p.m. non-conference game against Albany at Rensselaer Polytechnical Institute in Troy, N.Y.

The intensity was strong in the first half, hustle for ground balls, quick jumps on rides and early slides on defense. With a tempo this quick, the fans new that the game would be a perfect remedy to keep the juices flowing in the cold Pioneer valley. Paccione and Winkler started the game in the face-off circle. Winkler light on his hands, pushed the ball up field for an uneven transition. Brown found the goal when junior attackman Mike Hughes took a shot under handed topside right off of Schneider’s hip as he went high for the save.

The Minutemen quickly retaliated, getting two from Gene Tundo a frosh attackman. Tundo was at the right place at the right time, finding the cage off a rebound on an outside shot off the pipe. Two minutes later Tundo beat his man from behind the goal and shot lefty high past Levin. Brown was able to control the ball on offense for most of the quarter, giving the Bears numerous opportunities to find the net. Hughes struck at the 8 minute mark on an assist from Miller. Frosh attackman Ryan Culligan found the net on an assist from Matt Kelley. At the 2:54 mark Chazz Woodson was able to shake, bake and take a hard shot right off a roll dodge off Schneider’s hip. Ryan Culligan finished off the 1st quarter with his second goal of the game when Chas Gessner found him open for a quickstick and a 5-2 lead.

At the beginning of the 2nd quarter the Minutemen where playing the Bears 5 on 5, Morley was called for off sides and Brown was charged with an illegal stick. This gave the Minutemen a chance for a 2:30 EMO unreleasable after Morley served his penalty. On the Minuteman EMO, the ball was quickly banged around the horn until, Fiore from up top drew his man and dumped it to Morley, who scored a couple steps North of the goal line extended. The Bears received an EMO minutes later on a slashing call, which they used to gain back their 3 goal lead. Culligan was able to connect with Gessner for the open look. Eight seconds later on a massive scramble for a ground ball at midfield, Thompson was able to get the groundball, run up field, pass cross crease through three sticks, and find Miller open for a crank that bounced past Schneider.

With eight minutes remaining, it was imperative for the Minutemen to control the ball on O. The Bears D began to put on the pressure, they began to press the ball, set up checks and play body on any shot attempt. UMass up to the challenge, was able to tag the net twice before halftime on efforts from Morley and Fiore. Morley scored on a solid ride by the attack and Fiore took his man to goal. Once his D-man fell behind Chris sunk a lefty bouncer on the run to reduce the Minutemen deficit to 2.

The 3rd quarter began with the Bears ahead 7-5 or shall I say 8-5 when Abarelli was a assisted by Jimmy Mormile for a shot stick side high at 14:35. Back to a three goal lead, the Bears continued their solid defense and goaltending as the Minutemen began to turn up the heat. Soon enough UMass was on fire finding the cage four times in 2 minutes from Chris Fiore, Jeff Zywicki, and Morley on an interception into an open net. Don Little capped off the UMass surge with a goal top shelf while falling to the astro turf. This was the first UMass lead since 9:05 in the 1st quarter.

Shocked by the sudden jolt by the Minutemen attack, the Bears changed their offense to get better looks. As Princeton did against Cuse in the finals, Brown inverted the middies with the attack. The inversion worked, allowing Jimmy Mormile to find the net twice from up top. Mormile single-handedly tied the game and gave the Bears a goal lead. With 27 secs remaining the Bears tacked on another goal when Britton Darkac found Jon Thompson who cranked it stickside high.

Going into the 4th quarter UMass was down 11-9, trying to figure out Brown’s new offense. Gessner was the first to connect for Brown smoking his man 1 on 1 for a shot low on Schneider. Dan Paccione quickly answered back with a bouncer outside. Looking to finish the game, Brown patiently worked on offense for a clear look. Thompson scored his second goal of the game to give them back a three goal lead. Thompson showed his poise and patience on O and found Jimmy open for a 14 –10 lead.

Again it looked like UMass was going to come up empty, but Canella put Bill Schell in as keeper at 7:45 and the leadership of team Captains Paccione, McFarland and Little fired up the team. On the ensuing face off McFarland ran the wing and and made his prescience known in the scramble for the groundball. Coming up with the ball McFarland went straight to the cooker and took Levin low. Proving to be the catalyst UMass needed, the D-fense was able to keep the inverted middie situation under control, and the offense was working like clock work. Down by three, the Minutemen began getting the looks they had been waiting for all game scoring the next three goals and tying the game at 14. With 49 secs remaining Jr Kevin Levielle scored the winning goal stick side pipe on an assist from Fiore. The crowd erupted when the ball hit the net, and the Minutemen knew that goal was the icing on the cake. The minutemen were able to keep the ball away from the Bears and maintain a 4 game winning streak.