March 28, 2007
Bell Tolls Five Times As Eagles Get First Win, 8-2

(Manchester, N.H.) – Brandon Bell (Loudon, N.H.) erupted for five goals and set up two others and Andrew Smith (Lancaster, N.Y.) added three assists to lead host Daniel Webster past Johnson State, 8-2 in the North Atlantic Conference men’s lacrosse season opener for both clubs at Southern New Hampshire University’s Larkin Field Wednesday.

The win was the first of the season for the Eagles (1-2, 1-0 NAC), as they handed the Badgers (1-1, 0-1 NAC) their first loss.

Brian Abrahamson (Dedham, Mass.) added a goal and two assists, while Ryan Manning (Newport, N.H.) and Cullen Larkin (Bedford, N.H.) added single scores.

Adam McKellar (Biddeford, Maine) made 18 saves for the Eagles in goal, while Evan Pestone (Scituate, Mass.) made 12 saves for the Badgers.

The Eagles build a 3-0 first quarter lead and led 6-1 at the half. After Manning put the hosts ahead 4:20 into the game, Bell went to work, scoring the next four including two late in the first quarter and two within the first 6:25 of the second with Smith setting up his first three.

Johnson State broke into the scoring column with 9:03 to go in the half on an Erik Tillberg (Randolph, Vt.) score.

Larkin put the Eagles up 7-1 with 6:23 to go in the third and Bell notched his fifth of the day off an Abrahamson pass with 5:41 to go.

Matt Riani (Jericho, Vt.) closed out the scoring for the Badgers with 4:14 to play in the third.

The Eagles finished with a 27-21 shots advantage.

Daniel Webster travels to Emerson Saturday for a 7:00 p.m. NAC matchup, while Johnson State visits Becker at 2:00 p.m.