Springfield, Mass. (March 17) -- Led by a six-goal outing from freshman Garrett Smith (East Syracuse, N.Y./East Syracuse Minoa), the Assumption men's lacrosse team defeated American International by a convincing 12-5 final on Saturday afternoon in the Northeast-10 Conference opener for both teams.

Smith scored the first four goals of the game for the Hounds as Assumption built to an 8-0 lead late in the third quarter. Nick Amendt put the Yellow Jackets on the board with 3:26 left in the third, on his way to a hat trick for the game. Assumption pushed the lead up to 11-1 midway thru the fourth quarter before the Yellow Jackets closed on a 4-1 run to account for the 12-5 final.

Smith added an assist to go along with his six goals as this marks just the eighth time in school history that an Assumption player has scored six goals in a game. Sophomore goalie Matt Palubicki (Scituate, Mass./Scituate) picked up his first career victory as he made 10 saves in the Northeast-10 victory. Eric Whettell made 15 saves for the Yellow Jackets in the defeat.

Assumption improves to 1-3 overall and 1-0 in Northeast-10 play, while the Yellow Jackets fall to 0-4 on the season and 0-1 in the league. Assumption returns to action on Wednesday, March 21st as the Hounds host Molloy College in a non-conference matchup beginning at 7 p.m.