BOSTON, Mass. – Sophomore Tyler Sikich (Hermosa Beach, Calif.) and freshman MacKenzie Martin (Merrimack, N.H.) each scored three goals in Nichols College's 12-10 loss at Wentworth Wednesday night in Commonwealth Coast Conference (CCC) men's lacrosse action at Sweeney Field.

Senior Corey Davis (Wakefield, Mass.) added a goal and two assists as the Bison slipped to 4-7 on the season (0-5 CCC). Wentworth senior Ryan Coakley (Flemington, N.J.) tallied a game-high five points (4-1-5) while junior Tim Parlato (Needham, Mass.) became the program's all-time ground ball leader. The win moves the Leopards to 7-4 (3-2 CCC).

The two schools traded the first six goals. Sikich scored first for Nichols. Junior Alec Paradis (Pelham, N.H.) responded shortly after to tie the game at one. Freshman John Zaremski (Dorchester, Mass.) made it 2-1 Bison, then WIT senior Michael Cushera (Waltham, Mass.) tied it at two with just under six minutes remaining. Martin put Nichols ahead with a goal 1:07 later, however Coakley evened the score at three with 35 seconds on the clock.

Cushera gave the Leopards their first lead of the night with a goal less than a minute into the second. The second quarter then turned into a defensive battle as neither side scored again until the final two minutes. Sikich tied the game at four with a goal at 1:49, but Paradis put the Leopards back on top 28 seconds later. Junior Nick Parent (Windham, N.H.) scored out of a timeout with 53 seconds remaining to make it 6-4 at the break.

Davis scored the first goal of the second half with a man-up, followed by a goal from Sikich with 9:48 on the clock to even the score at six. Freshman Kevin Butler (Jefferson, Mass.) joined in on the scoring to put the Leopards back in front 7-6 just over a minute later. Nichols sophomore Dylan Baer (Webster, N.H.) tied things up again, but Cushera and Coakley responded with markers to give Wentworth a 9-7 lead going into the fourth.

Davis opened the fourth-quarter scoring to bring Nichols within one. Coakley scored shortly after to make it 10-8, but a pair of goals from Martin tied the game at 10 with 6:34 left. Coakley scored his fourth goal of the game – the eventual game-winner – at 5:18 before Parent added an insurance marker with 47 seconds left.

For Nichols, junior Brian Hancock (Groton, Mass.) tallied a game-high three assists. Senior Michael Bane (North Grafton, Mass.) collected six ground balls while classmate Sean Coates (Grafton, Mass.) had five ground balls and three caused turnovers.

In addition to Coakley's five points, Cushera tallied three goals, Paradis had two goals and an assist, and Parent had a pair of tallies. Paradis finished with a team-high six ground balls.

Freshman Adam Dufault (Lexington, Mass.) made 13 saves to pick up the win while freshman James Keane (Franklin, Mass.) made 11 saves in the loss for the Bison. Nichols outshot the Leopards 40-32 and held a 45-43 edge in ground balls.

The Bison play at Endicott Saturday while the Leopards head to Roger Williams.

Contributions from Wentworth sports information