Paxton, MA- The Dean College men's lacrosse team solidified a playoff berth on Thursday evening, defeating Anna Maria College by a final score of 17-7. With the win, the Bulldogs move to 11-3 (5-3) on the year, while Anna Maria drops to 4-9 (0-8).
The Bulldogs set the tone early in the first quarter, jumping out to a 5–0 lead thanks to goals by Alec Speirs (Old Lyme CT), Manny Alvarez-Segee (Saugus, MA), Owen Brine (Lebanon, NH), Kyle Pianka (Greenville, RI), and another from Alvarez-Segee. Dean kept their foot on the gas in the second quarter, with Alvarez-Segee notching two more goals, Brine adding another, and Christian Whittle (Harwich, MA) scoring as the Bulldogs entered halftime up 12–1.
Dean's defense was especially sharp in the opening half, limiting Anna Maria to just one goal while forcing several turnovers and dominating possession. Jason Richard (Holden, MA) also found the back of the net in the second quarter, showing the depth of Dean's scoring ability. Despite a better offensive showing from Anna Maria in the second half, Dean responded quickly each time, with brothers Gavin McCarthy (Whitman, MA) and Connor McCarthy (Whitman, MA) also getting on the board.
The Bulldogs continued with their foot on the gas, even as Anna Maria tried to chip away at the deficit. M. Alvarez-Segee scored his seventh goal late in the fourth, capping an incredible individual performance. Brine also recorded his third goal in the final minutes, securing his hat trick and helping maintain the double-digit lead. Anna Maria's second-half goals came from Powers, Robinson, Lupo, and Dewar, but Dean never allowed the game to tighten.
M. Alvarez-Segee led the Bulldogs' in scoring with his best performance of the season, scoring seven goals. Six of those goals were unassisted. Brine finished the day with three points and Gardner ended with two. Nine additional Bulldogs finished with one point each. Dane Duarte (Londonderry, NH) picked up his first win of the season in-goal.
Men's lacrosse has officially punched their ticket into the Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) tournament. While their opponent will be finalized in the coming week, they will play in their final regular season game next Wednesday at 7:00PM, traveling to Johnson & Wales University (RI).
