Written by Jonny Stevens
The Albertus Magnus College men's lacrosse team fell to the Mariners of Mitchell College Thursday afternoon at Celentano Field in New Haven, Conn. in a non-conference matchup. The Falcons fall to 3-7 on the year overall as the Mariners improve to 6-4 on the season.
Justin Bennet (Fairfield, Conn.) had a great game from the faceoff position. Bennet was 16 for 23 from the center including one faceoff with 12:47 left in the fourth quarter in which he took the ball all the way himself and buried the ball in the back of the cage. Bennet had the one goal and two assists for a three point day.
The Mitchell College Mariners started the scoring off just 3:41 into the game as Demetre Lylas netted a goal from the stick of Dan DiGioia. The Falcons had a quick response with a Mike Choiniere(Bethany, Conn.) to Greg Buck (Berlin, Conn.) hook-up to net the game at 1-1 with 8:50 left in the first quarter.
After a 3-0 scoring run from the Mariners, the Falcons responded with two goals of their own from Mike Choiniere and Brennan Moore. The Falcons trailed 4-3 with 5:12 left in the first quarter.
The 4-3 lead was the smallest the Falcons would see for the rest of the game as the Mariners went on a 7-0 scoring run lasting over three quarters.
The only three goals in the second quarter came from the sticks of the Mariners. Demetre Lylas netted two goals and David Klapp added one. Lylas had a great game as he scored six goals on just nine shots and led all point leaders with six.
At the end of the half the score was 9-3 in favor of Mitchell College. Both teams were close in ground balls as the Mariners just edged out the Falcons 15-13. The Mariners outshot the Falcons in the first half 18-13 as well.
Mitchell started the third quarter with two quick goals to round out their 7-0 run. Shane Sullivan cashed in on his second goal of the game with 13:41 left in the third quarter. Sullivan ended the game with three points grabbing one assist and scoring two goals.
Choiniere scored his second goal with 6:10 left in the third quarter to end the scoring draught for the Falcons. The goal came from a great pass by Justin Bennet. Choiniere ended the game with four points scoring two goals and dishing out two assists.
Finally, in the fourth quarter, the Falcons found their offensive groove as they outshot the Mariners 17-3. With the Falcons outshooting the Mariners in the fourth quarter gave them the advantage for the game as they recorded 39 shots to the Mariners 34. The Falcons ended the game on a 3-0 scoring run powered by two goals from Brennan Moore (Meriden, Conn.). The 3-0 run brought the game to the final score of 15-7.
A notable mention for the Mariners would be the outstanding play from the freshman goalkeeper JD Melay. Melay recorded 12 saves with 19 shots on goal. Brandon Scicchitano (Norwalk, Conn.) also played well for the Falcons in the cage as he recorded 10 saves.
The Mariners won 45-28 on ground balls and were very protective of the ball clearing the ball 23 out of 27 times.
The Falcons will take on Rivier University Saturday afternoon at 4:00 at Celentano Field in New Haven, Conn. for a Great Northeast Athletic Conference matchup. This game will also be senior day for the lone senior John Monaco (Naugatuck, Conn.)
