Charlestown, MA - After being named the CollegeLAX team of the week for continuing their winning ways in Texas the previous week, the Fighting Illini were excited to compete against some elite teams from the traditionally lacrosse-talented east coast.

The first stop on their trip was a date with the Northeastern University Huskies.  The Illini started off slowly, allowing a first quarter goal from the Huskies to put them up 1-0.  The Illini, however, soon regrouped en route to posting their sixth straight win.

The offensive attack was led by Stephen Black, Dan Dickson, and Scott Pfiffner, who tallied 2 goals apiece.  After a fairly slow first half, the Illini came out firing after halftime with goals by Stephen Black, Bob Ridlen, Nate Prescott, and Vinnie Casini.  They opened the second half with an offensive flurry, at one point scoring four straight goals.  Their strong performance in the third quarter put the Huskies away for good, as they went on to win the contest 9-4.

The story was the same for the Illini defense, as they again buckled down and played excellent team defense.  Strong play by defensemen Phil Dodson, Alex Burt, Mike Howlett, Neal Sullivan and midfielders Chris Fallon and Paul Dworzanski helped the team hold the Huskies to only 4 goals.  

The real story of the night, however, was the play in net.  Junior goalie Eric Rakoczy lit up the night with one outstanding save after another.  He finished the night with 17 saves on 21 shots faced while recording the win.

The win puts the Illini at 6-0 and 1-0 on their trip to Boston.  The Fighting Illini look to continue their winning streak with a game tomorrow night against the #11 Boston College Eagles in Alumni Football Stadium at Boston College. Stay tuned for more updates on illinilacrosse.com throughout the season.

Game Notes:  Stephen Black, Scott Pfiffner and Dan Dickson led the offense with 2 goals apiece… Joe O’Malley led the Illini with 2 assists… Doug Sutherland led the team with 7 ground balls