HENNIKER, N.H. – New England College (13-3) raced out to a 5-0 lead over the first 15 minutes of a wire-to-wire, 17-9 win over Maine Maritime (7-7) in the North Atlantic Conference (NAC) Men's Lacrosse Semifinals on Wednesday. The Pilgrims saw eight players find the net, earning New England College a date with Castleton in the conference's championship final.

The Pilgrims spread the offense judiciously in the opening stanza, seeing five different players solve James Wilgus (Phippsburg, Maine). Wilgus, who was under siege for the duration, saw 19 of the Pilgrims' 48 shots on the afternoon fired in the first quarter. He turned away nine on the day, falling to 7-3 on the year. His counterpart, Chris Galluzzo stymied the Mariners' offense, stopping 15 of the 41 shots sent his way.

Adam Shute and Sean Largay posted hat tricks for the Pilgrims, with Shute adding an assist. William Pendleton, Skyler Saunders, Cam Scully, Liam Peck and Pat Miles posted a pair of goals apiece. Saunders helped out New England College on three other goals, while Miles added two assists to the effort.

After the initial surge, Maine Maritime scored three of the next four goals to make it 6-3 midway through the second. Bronson Guimond (Portland, Maine) and A.J. Larrabee (Farmington, Maine) got together 73 seconds into the second quarter to get the Mariners on the board.

Shute answered the tally, before NAC Rookie of the Year Peter Moore (Scarborough, Maine) dumped in an extra-man goal, followed by Brady Harrison's (Alfred, Maine) unassisted marker. It appeared Maine Maritime was poised to make it a game with an extra-man opportunity following Harrison's goal; however, Largay had different designs, depositing a man-down marker to spark a seven-goal Pilgrims' run that extended into the third quarter. That surge left the hosts with an insurmountable, 10-goal lead at 13-3.

Moore led the Mariners' offensive with a three-goal, one assist effort, while Nick Snelling (Colchester, Vt.) dished out three assists. Guimond finished the day with a pair of goals, while Larrabee scored one to go with his assist.

Maine Maritime dominated the draws with Jack Tragert (Naples, Maine) winning 15 of the 22 faceoffs he took. Tim Grant (E. Northport, N.Y.) went 4-of-5 in spelling Tragert. The Mariners also limited the NAC's top extra-man offense to a one-of-seven afternoon. The Pilgrims have cashed in on 42.1 percent of their EMO's on the season.

New England excelled on the clear, carrying 24-of-25 possessions gained from the defending to attacking third.

The loss concludes the Mariners season at 7-7. New England College improved to 13-3 and advances to the NAC Championship Finals at Castleton State.

Score by Quarter 1-2-3-4-F

Maine Maritime (7-7) 0-3-2-4-9

New England College (13-2) 5-5-4-3-17

Maine Maritime SCORING: GOALS: Nicholas Betti 1; Brady Harrison 1; Bronson Guimond 2; Tim Grant 1; Peter Moore 3; AJ Larrabee 1.
ASSISTS: Nick Snelling 3; Justin Lovely 1; Peter Moore 1; AJ Larrabee 1; Cameron Wyman 1.

New England Col. SCORING: GOALS: William Pendleton 2; Skyler Saunders 2; Cam Scully 2; Liam Peck 2; Adam Shute 3; Sean Largay 3; Pat Miles 2; Nick Herzog 1. ASSISTS: William Pendleton 2; Conor Abbatessa 1; Skyler Saunders 3; Adam Shute 1; Pat Miles 2; Nick Herzog 1. 

Shots - Maine Maritime 41; New England College 48.

Goalies - Maine Maritime: James Wilgus 7-3 (60:00 minutes, 48 shots-9 saves, 17 GA), Chris Galluzzo 12-3 (60:00 minutes, 41 shots-15 saves, 9 GA).