No. 11 Men's Lacrosse Suffers 9-7 Defeat at Mercyhurst
Box Score ERIE, Pa. (Apr. 12, 2014) - On Saturday, junior midfielder
Connor Drost (Wading River, N.Y.) had a game-best five points off the bench, but it wasn't enough, as the 11th-ranked LIU Post men's lacrosse team lost to No. 4 Mercyhurst, 9-7, at Tullio Field in Erie, Pa.
Tied 1-1 at the end of the first quarter, the Lakers (8-2) scored three unanswered goals, two of which occurred in a 45-second stint, to kickstart the second period. Senior attackman Brandon Thomson (Canandaigua, N.Y.) capped the spurt for the hosts with a man-up tally at the 8:57 mark.
The Pioneers (6-4) reeled off three goals of their own though to close out the half, and went into the locker room tied up at 4-all. Sophomore midfielder
Anthony Berardis (Mahopac, N.Y.) bookended the run with goals, while sophomore attackman
Matty Beccaris (North Babylon, N.Y.) sandwiched it with a marker on the extra-man opportunity.
The see-saw action between the two squads resumed in the third quarter, before Mercyhurst, which was a dominant 17-of-20 (85.0 percent) on faceoffs, pulled away in the fourth. During the final 15-minute stanza, the hosts got goals from three different players, and kept LIU Post off the scoreboard. The visitors did manage three shots on net, but Lakers' senior goaltender Michael Grace (Warwick, N.Y.), who made eight saves, stopped each of those attempts.
Berardis notched a hat trick in the contest. Senior attackman/midfielder
Connor Mackay (Shrub Oak, N.Y.) and junior attackman
Chris Caiazza (Lindenhurst, N.Y.) chipped in a goal apiece. Sophomore attackman
Ryan Slane (North Babylon, N.Y.) dished out an assist. In his third appearance of the year between the pipes, sophomore cageminder
Adam Winne (Ridgefield, Conn.) turned aside eight shots.
Head Coach
John Jez and the Pioneers return to action next Saturday (Apr. 19), when they wrap up the road portion of their 2014 schedule in Old Westbury, N.Y. at No. 9/8 NYIT. The opening faceoff is scheduled for noon.