The Pioneer Trail: Tuesday, Mar. 17, 2015
No. 5 Men's Lacrosse vs. UDC - 3 p.m.In the midst of a three-game homestretch featuring a trio of East Coast Conference opponents, the LIU Post men's lacrosse team was recently slated No. 5 by the USILA in its most recent poll. The Pioneers dipped three places from the previous week's tally, but the only way to stay in the top-5 and move up in the rankings is to continue winning. That is exactly what the green and gold will look to do today when they host UDC at Bethpage Federal Credit Union Stadium in a St. Patrick's Day matinee.
No. 5 LIU Post (5-1, 2-0 ECC) comfortably won a 12-8 game against No. 10 Molloy on Saturday (Mar. 14). The Pioneers exorcised their demons in the contest, getting revenge for last year's shocking 8-7 upset in Rockville Centre on Mar. 22, 2014. Junior attacker
Matty Beccaris (North Babylon, N.Y.) scored three goals for LIU Post, while senior attackman
Chris Caiazza (Lindenhurst, N.Y.) also tallied a hat trick. Junior attackman
Ryan Slane (North Babylon, N.Y.) had a team-high five points (2G, 3A) in the victory, while juniors
Matt Bellando (Miami, Fla.) and
Anthony Berardis (Mahopac, N.Y.) each scored twice for the green and gold. The Pioneers held a 7-3 advantage at halftime and outshot Molloy by a 39-25 margin in the game. Junior netminder
Adam Winne (Ridgefield, Conn.) stopped five Molloy shots in picking up his fifth victory on the season.
Bellando is currently the best scorer on the team with 28 points, including 19 goals. That mark is tied with Dom Cianfarano of Roberts Wesleyan for the most goals in the East Coast Conference. Senior midfielder
Connor Drost (Wading River, N.Y.) sports a 25-point account so far this season, with 14 goals and a team-best 11 assists. Winne is holding his own in the cage, with a .548 save percentage and a 7.44 goals against average. The latter of his two statistics is the eighth-lowest GAA in Division II men's lacrosse.
UDC (1-1) is coming off of a 17-3 beatdown loss at the hands of Bentley last Wednesday (Mar. 11) in Arlington, Va. The Firebirds held a 1-0 lead after the first period thanks to a goal from sophomore middie Quinton Pavan (Port Coquitlam, British Columbia, Canada). However, the Falcons roared past UDC with a nine-goal third period, bookended by four-goal frames in the second and fourth quarters of the contest. Pavan scored twice for the Firebirds and fellow sophomore midfielder Russel Lloyd (Clifton, Va.) also put in a goal in the loss. Junior goalkeeper Pat Payne (Catonsville, Md.) faced a barrage from Bentley in the contest, making 19 saves on 36 shot attempts. UDC was outshot in the contest by a 57-32 margin.
In last year's contest between the two squads, LIU Post overwhelmed UDC to the tune of a 16-4 advantage on the scoreboard. The North Babylon duo of Slane and Beccaris totaled 11 points (5G, 6A) as Slane recorded a hat trick while Beccaris had a team-high four assists.