Men’s lacrosse freshman midfielder Skyler Celotto scored five of the team’s six goals in a 10-6 loss to the University of Massachusetts Dartmouth in a non-conference matchup at Rotch field on Wednesday night.

Despite the loss, head coach Matt Colombini highlighted some significant players on his team, such as Celotto, whose five goals brings his total up to 15 for the season.

“We are very excited about [Celotto]’s future with the program. He’s a freshman, but we treat him like a junior because we ask him to do so much,” Colombini said. “The reason he’s going to be great is because he’s out before and after every practice throwing and shooting on his own, and puts in so much work outside of just our scheduled practices that sooner or later, he won’t even need practice.”

The Lions now hold a 1-8 overall record this season and sit in eighth place in the New England Women’s and Men’s Athletic Conference.

The two teams traded goals in the first five minutes of play, but UMass Dartmouth took a 2-1 lead at the end of the first quarter with a goal by freshman attacker Kevin Swenson.

The Lions surged back to take the lead with an explosive start to the second quarter after Celotto scored two goals. The lead did not hold, however, as UMass Dartmouth scored three goals in three minutes to lead 5-3 at halftime.

Celotto netted two more goals midway through the third quarter after being a man up following a penalty on UMass Dartmouth. But UMass Dartmouth finished the quarter strong with three goals in the final two minutes to take a commanding 8-5 lead.

The fourth quarter was another back-and-forth contest, but UMass Dartmouth ultimately claimed a 10-6 victory.

Colombini said even though the Lions did not get the result they wanted, the game will become a learning experience.

“I feel that it wasn’t a great all-around team game, but there are things to learn from,” Colombini said. “I think today was a good reminder that we have to stick to the plan and play together. We have a lot of talented guys but we aren’t going to win games by taking guys one-on-one. We have to play as a group and not let things get away from us defensively.”

Colombini also praised senior midfielder Marshall Tate, who recorded two assists to Celotto in the game.  

“I thought Marshall Tate played very well for us between the lines and defensively, as well as getting man-up opportunities for us and making things happen,” Colombini said.

The Lions will begin conference play at Springfield College on Saturday, March 30 at 1 p.m.