THE BASICS:
 
- Score: MIT 20, Roger Williams University 10
 
- Records: MIT (1-0); Roger Williams (2-2)
 
- Location: Cambridge, Mass. (Roberts Field at Steinbrenner Stadium)
 
- The Lead: MIT outscored Roger Williams University, 12-4, in the second half to help it pull away for a 20-10 victory in a non-conference men's lacrosse game on Wednesday afternoon. Senior Heath Nilsen (Carlsbad, Calif.) generated four goals and four assists in the Engineers' season opener while Kevin Murphy and Ryan Vendetti both posted two goals and two assists for the Hawks.
 
HOW IT HAPPENED:
 
- Sophomore Zach Bleil (New Canaan, Conn.) opened the scoring after 1:09 elapsed but Matt Halpin buried the equalizer 26 seconds later. A solo effort by Vendetti gave Roger Williams a 2-1 edge at the 11:03 mark, however, the Engineers replied with a 4-1 run to reclaim the lead.
 
- The Hawks kicked off the second quarter with goals by Riley Spellman, Matt Hemmert, and Murphy in a three-minute span, resulting in a 6-5 lead with 9:14 on the clock. The Engineers countered with their own three-goal spurt, helping them enter halftime with an 8-6 cushion. Junior Nick Stiles (New Canaan, Conn.), Bleil, and sophomore Garrett Campagna (Lancaster, Pa.) each found the back of the net for the hosts.
 
- MIT continued to increase its advantage as it tallied four unanswered goals during the first half of the third quarter. Senior Joe Lupo (Bedford, N.H.) capped the scoring burst when he hauled in a pass from graduate student goalie David Vapnek (San Diego, Calif.) at midfield during a clearing attempt and sprinted directly to goal. Hemmert ended the visitors' scoring drought at the 5:04 mark and set off an exchange of goals that moved the score to 14-8 at the end of the frame.
 
- The Engineers controlled the action in the fourth quarter as they rattled off six straight goals. Spellman and Harrison Steffens provided the final tallies for Roger Williams as they came during the last 3:32 of regulation.
 
INSIDE THE NUMBERS:
 
- Bleil finished with four goals and an assist as Campagna recorded three goals, one assist, and five groundballs. Stiles posted a hat trick as senior Bennett Stankovits (Rumson, N.J.) and junior Ethan Robertson (Wheatley Heights, N.Y.) both notched three points.
 
- Junior Matthew Sardis (Bernardsville, N.J.) won 16 of 20 faceoffs and collected 13 groundballs while graduate student Andrew Palleiko (Hopkinton, Mass.) was 10-of-12 in faceoffs and totaled nine groundballs as well as a goal. In net, Vapnek made 11 saves in 55 minutes as sophomore Collin Lung (Lynbrook, N.Y.) closed out the game for the hosts.
 
- Hemmert and Spellman both scored twice while Halpin generated one goal, one assist, six groundballs, and two caused turnovers. Mike Intravaia notched three groundballs and two caused turnovers as goalie Aaron D'Aversa amassed 17 saves in 55 minutes.
 
UP NEXT:
 
- Both teams are back in action on Saturday, March 2 at 1:00 p.m. MIT will travel to Western New England University while Roger Williams will host Rivier University.
 
STAY CONNECTED:
 
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