Wilcox Produces Game-High-Tying Three Points as No. 13 Men's Lacrosse Earns 7-2 Victory Over Saint Rose
Box Score ALBANY, N.Y. (Mar. 4, 2016) – Powered by a game-high-tying three points from junior Nick Wilcox (Hamburg, N.Y./Hamburg) and a combined eight saves from goalies senior A.J. Pellati (West Islip, N.Y./West Islip) and sophomore Michael Schneider (West Babylon, N.Y./West Babylon), the No. 13 Mercy College men's lacrosse team tied a school record for fewest goals allowed in a 7-2 victory over the College of Saint Rose on Friday afternoon at Sullivan Field.
The Mavericks (3-1) bounce back from their tough loss against Lake Erie on Saturday and tie the school record for fewest goals allowed in a game, previously set against Dominican on March 30, 2012. Mercy defeats the Golden Knights (0-2) for the fifth year in a row.
Wilcox finished with two goals and an assist, while senior Kyle Stockton (Medford, N.Y./Patchogue-Medford) added two goals and is three points shy of 100 for his career. Junior Daniel Speicher (Seaford, N.Y./Seaford), freshmen Bobby Chillianis (Bethpage, N.Y./Bethpage) and Luke Baron (Cold Spring Harbor, N.Y./Cold Spring Harbor) also scored for the Mavericks. Freshman Ryan MacSpadyen (Toronto, Ontario/Seneca College) chipped in three assists and senior Peter LoParo (Ridgewood, N.J./Ridgewood) added a game-high five groundballs. Freshman Max Littleton (Mahopac, N.Y./Mahopac) concluded the afternoon with a game-high three caused turnovers and Pellati played the first half with one goal allowed and three saves to pick up the victory and improve to 3-0. Schneider appeared in the second half and gave up only one goal with five saves.
Matt Graham and Connor Moore recorded the lone goals for Saint Rose. Goalie Liam Guiton went the distance with ten saves in a losing effort.
Mercy looked to bounce back from their tough loss on Saturday to No. 4 Lake Erie and would do just that as they led from start-to-finish in a low scoring defensive battle.
The two teams went scoreless for the first seven minutes of the game until Stockton broke through with a man-up goal off a feed from MacSpadyen to give the Mavericks a 1-0 lead midway through the period. Mercy kept on the pressure and followed with a couple of shots hitting the post until Wilcox recorded his first goal of the day at the 3:50 mark to make it 2-0. The Mavericks headed into the second quarter up 2-0 as they outshot the Golden Knights 13-2 in the quarter.
Mercy wasted little time in getting on the board in the second quarter as less than two minutes in Baron tallied his first collegiate goal to put the Mavericks up 3-0 with 13:28 left in the half. Saint Rose came back with a pair of shots but Pellati was up to the challenge, making a pair of saves. After a Golden Knights penalty and Mercy timeout, Wilcox netted a man-up goal at the 9:34 mark off a pass from MacSpadyen that gave the Mavericks a 4-0 lead.
The hosts netted their first goal of the game just over two minutes later on a man-up opportunity to make it 4-1 with seven minutes left in the half. The two teams remained scoreless for the remainder of the half and Mercy headed into the intermission up 4-1.
The third quarter saw Speicher get the Mavericks another goal at the 12:07 mark to make it 5-1 Mercy. Just over a minute later, Chillianis nailed home his fourth of the season off an assist from Wilcox to put the Mavericks up 6-1 with 10:59 remaining in the quarter. Mercy held the Golden Knights scoreless in the period as Schneider made three saves in the frame.
The Mavericks held a 6-1 lead heading to the final quarter and added on another tally at the 12:11 mark as Stockton added another man-up goal from MacSpadyen to give Mercy a commanding 7-1 lead. The Mavericks defense continued to dominate until the Saint Rose picked up their second of the day with 4:42 remaining to make it 7-2. The deficit proved too much to overcome for the Golden Knights and Mercy held on for the impressive win.
The Mavericks held a 28-20 edge in shots and a 24-21 advantage in groundballs. Mercy went 16-of-19 on clear attempts and forced 20 Saint Rose turnovers. The Mavericks also went a perfect 3-for-3 on man-up opportunities and went 4-of-11 on faceoffs.
Head Coach Jordan Levine and the Mavericks resume action on Saturday, March 12th as they host ECC foe Chestnut Hill at 1 p.m.
