Box Score Junior goaltender Chase Murphy tied his career high with 18 saves and the Colorado College defense held Endicott College to more than four goals below its season average, but the Gulls offense got on track in the second half and pulled away for a 12-6 victory on Wednesday afternoon in the opening round of the 2015 NCAA Division III Men's Lacrosse Championship.

The Tigers gave No. 9 Endicott all it could handle during the first 28 minutes when senior midfielder Henri Halle scored twice to help CC build a 4-2 lead. 

After senior Joshua Tordik gave the Gulls their first lead 37 seconds into the game, Colorado College tied the score two minutes later when junior midfielder Ian Pelto picked up a loose ball in the defensive third and threw a long pass to freshman attacker Sam Dardani, who scored in an open net after junior goaltender Cameron Bell left his cage.

Halle put CC ahead midway through the quarter with a high shot from the top left corner off a pass from senior midfielder Taylor Paul, then senior midfielder Dylan Davie made the score 3-1 with 6:24 to go with a low shot from the left wing.

Senior Kyle Weber's unassisted man-up goal pulled the Gulls to within 3-2, but Halle got that one back three minutes later with a shot from the left side off another feed from Paul.

Senior Nick Pinciaro scored with 1:56 to go in the first half when he picked up the rebound of a shot by sophomore Will Jennings and scored from at the edge of the crease to the side of the right post. That tally ignited a 6-0 run that proved to be the difference in the contest.

Endicott scored three times during the opening 2:44 of the third quarter. Tordik scored twice in a span of 40 seconds to put Endicott in the lead, then the Gulls added three more markers to take an 8-4 lead when Will Jennings found the net with 10:12 remaining in the quarter.

Halle's man-up laser from the top left wing put an end to the run and made the score 8-5 with 8:27 to go in the frame.

Tordik, who entered the game with 12 goals, added his fourth of the game with 6:33 to play, then sophomore Colin Bannon evaded Colorado College junior defender Tim Jenkins long enough to record his only marker of the game and give Endicott a 10-5 lead with a little more than 16 minutes to play.

Jenkins caused four turnovers and grabbed three ground balls.

Dardani scored for the second time with 1:12 to go in the period to make the score 10-6 after 45 minutes, but that proved to be the final goal of the game for the Tigers.

Colorado College had a chance to get closer 1:21 into the fourth quarter, but senior attacker Mackie Greason drilled the post off a spin move in the slot.

Bell stopped 14 shots for Endicott, including a pair by Paul in the second quarter to prevent the Tigers from extending their lead. He also denied sophomore attacker Jack McCormick's man-up effort from the left side with 12:07 remaining in the game.

The Gulls, who rank fourth in Division III averaging 16.39 goals per contest, finished with a 46-31 advantage in total shots.

Sophomore Tommy Hughes won 13 of 19 face-offs to help Endicott post a 39-15 edge in ground balls.

The Gulls, who improved to 16-3, will play Cortland State in the second round on Saturday.

CC finished the season with a 12-4 record.