BIDDEFORD — A strong fourth quarter was enough to push the University of New England men’s lacrosse team to a 9-5 victory over visiting Plymouth State Saturday afternoon.

Tied 5-5 heading into the fourth quarter, UNE outscored PSU 4-0 in the final 15 minutes to secure the win.

UNE coach Charlie Burch felt the difference in the fourth was his team’s ball movement.

“We got a few lucky bounces, we also got a penalty opportunity, but for the most part I think our success on offense in the fourth quarter was because of ball movement. Over the course of the game, we didn’t have very good ball movement and you see that when we do we have more opportunities that way,” said Burch.

Burch was also pleased with his team’s defense.

“We’re happy with the defense right now. We have held our opponents to pretty low numbers and today the defense kept us in the game until the offense figured things out,” said Burch.

The first quarter was a tight defensive battle for both squads. Each defense packed it in towards the net and did not allow the opposing offense to gain any traction.

Dan Auger was able to break through the tough PSU defense and get the Nor’easters on the board early with a low shot in net.

PSU responded just 2:25 later when Colin Claflin sent a shot through the crowded UNE zone to tie the early game at 1-1.

As the two teams grinded throughout the remainder of the opening period, neither team managed to gain steady momentum.

UNE hoped to change that when goalie David Pearson sent a pass the length of the field that was picked up by Auger, who sent it in the net with .1 seconds remaining, giving the Nor’easters a 2-1 lead heading into the second.

The 2-1 lead however was short lived, as PSU opened up the second quarter firing in the UNE zone and scored just 1:20 into the period, when Bobby Savoia sent a short range shot high in the net, tying the score at 2-2 early in the second.

Defense continued to be the key as the second quarter continued. Most of the 15 minutes was spent in the neutral zone with neither offense being able to piece together sufficient scoring chances.

With 2:46 remaining in the first half, the Nor’easters took advantage of a PSU line change as Andrew Markham was positioned on the left side of the net. As the Panthers adjusted, Markham got a hold of the ball and gave UNE the go-ahead goal to make it 3-2.

The Nor’easters added some insurance just 1:29 later when Tom Luttrell marched the ball down the right side of the field and sent in another goal.

Once again, the UNE momentum was cut short when Claflin sent in his second goal, making the score 4-3 UNE heading into half.

UNE answered back just 30 seconds into the half when Sam Cloutier took a shot that was deflected off of a Panther defender and into the net, giving the Nor’easters a two point advantage early in the half.

The tempo of the third quarter was much faster, with each team managing to break through up their shot totals.

PSU was able to bring the score within one thanks to another goal from Bobby Savoia, and less than two minutes later the Panthers forced a three on two breakaway that led to a tying goal from Pete Allen.

The fourth quarter flurry began early for the Nor’easters, when Cloutier scored at the 14:33 mark, Mitch Mullin the 9:09 mark, David Rubenstein at 4:55 and Mullin with 35 seconds remaining.

— Sports Staff Writer Alex Sponseller can be reached at [email protected] or at 282- 1535 ext. 323.