THE BASICS:
 
- Score: MIT 25, Western New England University 14
 
- Records: MIT (2-1); WNE (1-2)
 
- Location: Cambridge, Mass. (Roberts Field at Steinbrenner Stadium)
 
- The Lead: An 11-1 run that spanned the first and second quarters helped MIT pull away before going on to defeat Western New England University, 25-14, in a non-conference men's lacrosse game on Sunday. Graduate student Ryan Gebhardt (Baldwinsville, N.Y.) amassed eight goals and four assists, tying the program record for points in a game for the third time in his career. One of four players to record four points for the Golden Bears, Jack Houlden posted three goals and an assist.
 
HOW IT HAPPENED:
 
- A solo effort by Gebhardt opened the scoring after 32 seconds expired and he then set up junior Bennett Stankovits (Rumson, N.J.). Junior Heath Nilsen (Carlsbad, Calif.) quickly followed with back-to-back goals, giving MIT a 4-0 lead at the 9:34 mark. WNE responded with a man-up goal by Noah Rust, followed by strikes from Houlden and Thomas Labbe to come within one with 5:01 left in the quarter. This was as close as it would get as the Engineers rattled off five unanswered goals to close out the frame, including another back-to-back pair from Nilsen.
 
- Nilsen carried the momentum into the second quarter as he found the back of the net with 12:02 on the clock, increasing MIT's advantage to 10-3. The Golden Bears ended their scoring drought a minute later when Jacob Roy connected on a feed from Dylan Hanley. The Engineers replied with another five-goal burst, entering halftime with a 15-4 advantage. Gebhardt was a factor in four of the goals as he scored three times and found Stankovits for his third goal of the day.
 
- MIT opened the third quarter with two more Gebhardt goals, however, Hanley scored the next two for WNE, including a man-up strike. Ben Kolb registered the next goal for the visitors at the 7:39 mark, but the Engineers generated five unanswered goals to go up 22-7 at the end of the quarter. Gebhardt and first year Bryce Metalios (Riverside, Conn.) both generated two goals and an assist as first year Zach Bleil's (New Canaan, Conn.) unassisted goal kicked off the spurt.
 
- In the fourth quarter, the Golden Bears outscored MIT, 7-3. Highlights include two goals and an assist by Houlden, James Wrynn scoring twice, and Mike Bannon earning three assists.
 
INSIDE THE NUMBERS:
 
- Nilsen amassed seven goals and two assists as Metalios finished with three goals and one assist. Stankovits recorded a hat trick while first year Oscar Lindenthal (Vero Beach, Fla.) chipped in one goal and two assists. Junior Teague Rice (Suffern, N.Y.) posted two assists and two caused turnovers as sophomore Matthew Sardis (Bernardsville, N.J.) won 18 of his 22 faceoff attempts and collected 15 groundballs. Senior Chris Perrino (Yorktown Heights, N.Y.) and senior Teddy Corcoran (Harrison, N.Y.) both added four groundballs.
 
- In net, senior Devin McCabe (New Castle, N.H.) made four saves during 53 minutes of action while senior David Vapnek (San Diego, Calif.) turned away two shots down the stretch.
 
- Hanley registered two goals and two assists as Bannon dished out four assists. Chris Catuosco won eight of his 15 faceoff attempts and corralled seven groundballs while Sean Farland contributed five groundballs. Jack Gara produced two caused turnovers as Jonathon Salsbury made 14 saves.
 
- With 415 career points, Gebhardt currently ranks fourth in Division III and sixth across all NCAA divisions.
 
- This was the first meeting between both programs since 2007 and the Engineers' first victory since 2001.
 
UP NEXT:
 
- MIT returns to action on Wednesday, March 8 when it travels to Roger Williams University for a 4:00 p.m. game. Western New England, meanwhile, will host Babson College on Saturday, March 11 at 1:00 p.m.
 
STAY CONNECTED:
 
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