BROOKVILLE, N.Y. (Mar. 14, 2015) - On Saturday, the No. 2/2 LIU Post men's lacrosse team bested No. 10/11 Molloy, 12-8, in East Coast Conference action at Bethpage Federal Credit Union Stadium.

Senior attackman Chris Caiazza (Lindenhurst, N.Y.) tied for the game-high with four points (3 G, 1 A). Junior attackman Matty Beccaris (North Babylon, N.Y.) had a hat trick. Fellow junior attackmen Matt Bellando (Miami, Fla.) and Ryan Slane (North Babylon, N.Y.) each recorded two goals and an assist.

The tandem of Caiazza and junior midfielder Anthony Berardis (Mahopac, N.Y.) staked the Pioneers (5-1, 2-0 ECC) to a 3-0 advantage late in the first quarter. Bellando opened the scoring with an unassisted goal at the 11:23 mark. Berardis and Caiazza, who accounted for two of three LIU Post man-up tallies on the afternoon, followed with a goal and an assist apiece.

In the second quarter, the green and gold, holding a 3-1 edge, collected four unanswered goals to extend their lead to 7-1. Bellando, Berardis, Beccaris and Caiazza all found the back of the cage in the run.

Molloy (3-1, 2-1 ECC), however, closed the gap to 7-3 at halftime, after Connor Slane (North Babylon, N.Y.) and Joe Leonard (Hicksville, N.Y.) struck in the final 28 seconds of the period.

Heading into the fourth quarter, LIU Post owned a five-goal cushion (9-4). Leonard then scored back-to-back unassisted goals at the start of the session to pull the Lions within 9-6 with 13:25 remaining.

The Pioneers staved off the Molloy rally though, as Beccaris and Caiazza answered in a span of 17 seconds to seal the victory.

LIU Post dominated the shot count (39-25) in the contest, while also winning 31 ground balls to Molloy's 25. Additionally, the Pioneers were 14-of-20 (70.0 percent) on clears and 3-of-7 (42.8 percent) with the extra-man opportunity.

Between the pipes, junior goalie Adam Winne (Ridgefield, Conn.) made five saves for LIU Post. His counterpart, Ryan Toomey (Hicksville, N.Y.), stopped 11 shots for Molloy.

Head Coach John Jez and the Pioneers return to action Tuesday (Mar. 17), when they host ECC foe UDC in a St. Patrick's Day match-up at Bethpage Federal Credit Union Stadium. The opening faceoff is scheduled for 3 p.m.