SPARKILL, N.Y. (Apr. 26, 2017) - On Wednesday, the LIU Post men's lacrosse team cruised to an 18-5 win against St. Thomas Aquinas College in an East Coast Conference tilt at Spartan Field in Sparkill.

Sophomore midfielder Steven Frank (Hauppauge, N.Y.) led all players with four goals in the victory. Junior attackman Chris Trasacco (Cheshire, Conn.) finished with three goals and an assist for four points. Junior midfielder Dylan Harned  (Selden, N.Y.) scored three goals, while freshman midfielder Dan Foley (Carmel, N.Y.) notched a pair of tallies.

Up 3-1 in the opening stanza, the Pioneers (7-7, 4-3 ECC) exploded for 11 unanswered tallies to increase their lead to a 13-goal difference (14-1) at the midway point of the third quarter. 

Frank and Harned each tallied three goals in the burst. Trasacco registered two goals. Sophomore midfielder Michael Licata (Ronkonkoma, N.Y.), freshman midfielder Nick Grassa (North Babylon, N.Y.) and freshman attackman/midfielder Travis Ventura (Hopewell Junction, N.Y.) all picked up an assist.

The green and gold never looked back from there, as LIU Post eventually built as much as a 16-goal advantage (18-2) in the fourth quarter.

Freshman midfielder Austin Guerrina (Longwood, Fla.) contributed three points (2 G, 1 A) in the effort. Grassa had a goal and an assist for two points. Junior midfielder Kris Alvarado (Yorktown Heights, N.Y.) dished out an assist and totaled five ground balls.

Between the pipes, senior goaltender Matthew Liantonio (Miller Place, N.Y.) and sophomore goalie Bryan Ochs (Syosset, N.Y.) combined to make 13 saves for the Pioneers. Sophomore cageminder Ryan Mello (Cortlandt Manor, N.Y.) and freshman goalie Ryan Guild (New Windsor, N.Y.) stopped a total of 11 shots for the Spartans (5-10, 1-7 ECC).

Senior midfielder Anthony Galeotafiore (Wantagh, N.Y.) won 11-of-13 (84.6 percent) on faceoffs and earned seven ground balls in the contest. Sophomore midfielder Connor Farrell (Holtsville, N.Y.) was 8-of-12 (75.0 percent) on draws and scooped up five ground balls. He tallied a goal for the second time in as many games, as well.

For the game, LIU Post owned a 44-29 advantage in shots and a 42-24 differential in ground balls. The Pioneers were also a near-perfect 17-of-18 (94.4 percent) on clears and 1-of-3 (33.3 percent) on extra-man opportunities.

Head Coach John Jez and his LIU Post squad close out the 2017 regular season Saturday (Apr. 29), when they face ECC opponent Roberts Wesleyan College at 2 p.m. at Bethpage Federal Credit Union Stadium in Brookville.