BIDDEFORD — The University of New England men’s lacrosse team opens Commonwealth Coast Conference play today at home against Wentworth ”“ and  the Nor’easters are ready and rolling for the conference schedule to get started.

UNE has gone 5-2 in non-conference games to start the season and is currently on a three-game winning streak. That’s the kind of run the players say they hoped for heading into the beginning of conference games.

“In a perfect world, we’d rather be 7-0. But you can learn from losing a few games,” said senior defenseman Nick McMahon. “I think we hit our stride right at the right point ”“ heading into conference play.”

After opening the season with wins over Wheaton and the University of Southern Maine, the Nor’easters fell flat at home against Plymouth State. UNE lost 15-6 in a game that head coach Charlie Burch called an “abomination.”

“We didn’t come out and play as best we could that day,” said senior attacker Tyler Thomas.

UNE dropped its second consecutive game when they lost to Bates on the road. Burch said his team played better in that game, despite the outcome, and noted that the Bobcats are one of the top-ranked teams in New England.

It’s been all wins for the Nor’easters since then, beginning with a narrow 7-6 win over MIT. It was a revenge victory for UNE, after losing in triple overtime to the Engineers last year. Thomas said that’s where things started to change for the team.

“That sprung us into spring break,” Thomas said. “It definitely gave us momentum and confidence. But it also gave us a wake-up call, because we didn’t play our best game that day either. That was definitely a big game for us, getting revenge.”

Burch said it was the next game that really unified the team, as they were battling more than just an opponent.

“A game that really pulled us together, kind of a bonding experience was (at Morrisville State) last Tuesday. We played in a blinding snow storm. Guys were freezing cold, some guys couldn’t feel their hands for part of the game. So I think that really brought us together,” said Burch.

The Nor’easters beat the Mustangs 11-7 in the first of two spring break trip games in New York and New Jersey. They followed that up with their latest victory, a 12-7 win over FDU-Florham.

Junior attacker Pat Wolfe scored six goals in the win over the Devils. Thomas said that just about anybody can have scoring days like that, the way the offense is built.

“Anybody can have a big day. It’s just ”˜whose big day is going to be?’ Last game it was Pat Wolfe with six goals. A few games ago, O’Gorman had a bunch of points,” said Thomas, who leads the team with 27 points. “If somebody is having a day, we’re going to try and get them the ball, because they have the hot hand.”

Better play on the defensive end has been a key factor in the three-game winning streak. UNE has given up six, seven and seven goals, respectively, over its last three games. Burch said the team’s goal is to hold opponents under eight goals each game, and they’ve certainly accomplished that.

The defense has also tightened up in man-down situations. After giving up 11 man-down goals in the two losses, the Nor’easters have held their last three opponents scoreless in those situations.

“We gave up eight out of nine against Plymouth State, which is pretty horrible,” Burch said of man-down goals. “So we’ve shown some great improvement in that (area).”

“Everyone’s going to take penalties. You got to play through that, and you got to be ready for the man-down,” McMahon said about the defense’s mindset with a man down.

Burch said the team is about where they want to be heading into conference play. But he said the intensity and stakes get higher once the games start counting for seeding.

“The whole thing gets a lot tougher from this point on,” said Burch.

— Contact Wil Kramlich at 282-1535, Ext. 323.