BIDDEFORD, Maine – The Nichols College men's lacrosse team saw one of the most successful seasons in program history come to a close on Saturday with a 13-10 loss to the University of New England in the Commonwealth Coast Conference (CCC) Quarterfinals at the Big Blue Turf.

Senior Tyler Sikich (Hermosa Beach, Calif.) scored three goals for the Bison in his final collegiate contest while sophomore Jack Campanale (Shrewsbury, Mass.) went for two goals and junior MacKenzie Martin (Merrimack, N.H.) collected two assists. Junior goalie James Keane (Franklin, Mass.) stopped 21 shots to keep the Bison in the game until the final minutes.

Senior Dan Auger (Nashua, N.H.) registered five points on three goals and two assists, giving him 92 points on the season. Sophomore Alex Zadworny (Florence, Mass.) and junior Tom Luttrell (Greenbrae, Calif.) each scored twice, and both Auger and freshman Adam Race (Erieville, N.Y.) scooped up a game-high seven ground balls.

Nichols built an early 2-0 lead on goals from Campanale and Sikich at 12:47 and 11:43, respectively, of the first quarter. The Bison ended the stanza with a 4-3 advantage after another marker from Campanale and one from senior PJ Tessier (Mirror Lake, N.H.).
 
Auger scored twice in the second quarter to help the Nor'easters build an 8-6 halftime lead. Graduate student Reece O'Connor (North Grafton, Mass.) and sophomore Nate Mortimer (Hampden, Mass.) picked up goals for the Bison in the frame.
 
Luttrell and Auger each netted one in the third while Sikich, junior Jack Zaremski (Dorchester, Mass.), and sophomore Casey Campanale (Shrewsbury, Mass.) scored for Nichols as UNE held an 11-9 lead midway through the third. A man-up goal from freshman Garrett Bozek (Nashua, N.H.) at 4:04 gave the home team a 12-9 advantage going to the fourth.
 
Sikich's third of the contest and 27th of the season with 9:22 remaining brought the Bison to within two at 12-10, but UNE's second man-up goal of the day – this one coming off the stick of Zadworny – restored its three-goal lead
 
Senior David Pearson (Scarborough, Maine) made six saves for UNE to earn the win.
 
All-Time Series
Today's playoff contest marked the 25th all-time meeting between the two schools. Nichols lead the series, 13-12, but the Nor'easters have won the last 10 matchups.
 
Next Games
Nichols (10-8) – season complete
UNE (14-4) – Wednesday, May 3 @ Western New England (CCC Semifinal)