No. 5 Men's Lacrosse Falls at No. 3 Merrimack in NCAA Quarters, 15-13
Box Score
NORTH ANDOVER, Mass. (May 14, 2016) - On Saturday, the No. 5/6 and third-seeded LIU Post men's lacrosse team came up short in a 15-13 loss versus No. 3/3 and second-seeded Merrimack College in an NCAA Division II Championship quarterfinal at Martone-Mejail Field.
The defeat wraps up the 2016 campaign for the Pioneers at 12-4 overall. They won their fourth-straight East Coast Conference title and secured a fourth-consecutive NCAA Tournament bid in the process.
Tied 7-7 at the half, the Warriors (15-2) broke out for five unanswered goals to start the third quarter to take a 12-7 lead with 11:48 left in the period.
The Pioneers battled back though. Senior attackmen
Matty Beccaris (North Babylon, N.Y.) and
Ryan Slane (North Babylon, N.Y.) and junior midfielder
Dylan Harned (Selden, N.Y.) all scored to close the gap to 12-10 at the nine-minute mark.
However, LIU Post was unable to make it any closer than a two-goal game for the remainder of the contest.
In the first half, the Pioneers rallied from a pair of early deficits to grab a 7-6 advantage on a
Jeremy Morgan (Ridge, N.Y.) goal with 2:27 left.
That was until Merrimack's Seamus Ford (Walpole, Mass.) found the back of the cage only eight seconds later to even the game at 7-all at the break.
Eight different players netted goals for the green and gold in the loss. Beccaris led the way with three goals and an assist for four points. Slane, senior attackman
Matt Bellando (Miami, Fla.) and senior midfielder
Anthony Berardis (Mahopac, N.Y.) notched two goals apiece.
Between the pipes, senior goaltender
Adam Winne (Ridgefield, Conn.) made a game- and season-best 16 saves for the Pioneers. That total also tied his career-high (16 saves against Adelphi University on Mar. 9, 2015). Sophomore cageminder Sam Ventresca (Woburn, Mass.) stopped 11 shots for the Warriors.
For more information on the LIU Post men's lacrosse program, please continue to check back at
LIUPostPioneers.com.