Wilcox Scores Game-High-Tying Three Goals as No. 13 Men's Lacrosse Battles No. 9 NYIT Down to the Wire
Box Score OLD WESTBURY, N.Y. (Apr. 16, 2016) – Despite a game-high-tying three goals from junior Nick Wilcox (Hamburg, N.Y./Hamburg), the No. 13 Mercy College men's lacrosse team put up a valiant fight before succumbing to No. 9 NYIT, 11-9, in an ECC battle on Saturday afternoon at President's Stadium.
The Mavericks (9-3, 5-2 ECC) see their five-game winning streak come to an end, while the Bears (9-3, 5-1 ECC) bounce back from their loss to LIU Post last week.
Wilcox led Mercy on the day with four points, adding an assist to go along with his three goals. Freshman Ryan MacSpadyen (Toronto, Ontario/Seneca College) netted two goals, while seniors Kyle Stockton (Medford, N.Y./Patchogue-Medford) and Robert Rossi (North Massapequa, N.Y./Adelphi) also chipped in goals. Junior Richie Morris (Farmingdale, N.Y./Farmingdale) and freshman Bobby Chillianis (Bethpage, N.Y./Bethpage) rounded out the six different Mavericks to score. Senior Ben Shepherd (Huntington Station, N.Y./Univ. of Tampa) recorded an assist, while Rossi and freshmen Max Littleton (Mahopac, N.Y./Mahopac) and Nick D'Amaro (Manorville, N.Y./Eastport-South-Manor) picked up a team-high three groundballs. Senior A.J. Pellati (West Islip, N.Y./West Islip) and sophomore Michael Schneider (West Babylon, N.Y./West Babylon) split time in net with Schneider playing the second half with six saves to take the loss.
Sean Cleary paced NYIT with a game-high five points on three goals and two assists, while goalie Alex Seltzer played the full 60 minutes with six saves to earn the victory.
The Mavericks have become accustomed to getting off to fast starts, but the Bears would score first at the 13:15 mark of the first quarter on an Andrew Schweigert goal to make it 1-0. Mercy, however, was not going to back down and answered with three straight goals to take a 3-1 lead with 5:40 left in the opening quarter. MacSpadyen opened up the scoring at the 9:38 mark before Rossi netted his goal of the day. MacSpadyen capped off the run with his 20th goal of the season to give the Mavericks some cushion.
NYIT responded right back with three goals in a row of their own to retake the lead at 4-3 with 11 seconds left in the quarter. It looked like Mercy was going to go into the second quarter trailing, but Chillianis received a pass from Shepherd and found the back of the net as time expired to make it 4-4 after the first quarter.
The Bears opened up the scoring in the second quarter with a Will Kistinger goal breaking the tie with 11:33 left in the half, making it 5-4 NYIT. Morris and Wilcox answered with goals to give the lead back to the Mavericks at 6-5 with 5:29 remaining in the quarter and the score remained the same heading into halftime.
After Schneider made a pair of saves to open the second half, Stockton got into the scoring column with his 23rd of the year at the 13:33 mark to put Mercy up 7-5. Wilcox would make it a three-goal game, 8-5, with his second of the day with 11:30 left on the clock in the third quarter.
NYIT inched closer with a man-up goal to make it 8-6 before Wilcox completed the hat-trick at the 2:36 mark to make it 9-6. The third quarter came to a close with the Mavericks up 9-6, looking to complete the upset in the fourth.
The score remained 9-6 with ten minutes left in the final quarter and Mercy looked to be on the verge of pulling off the upset. However, the hosts scored three goals in just under three minutes to even up the score at 9-9 with 7:08 left.
The contest was still tied at 9-9 with under two minutes remaining when Kistinger scored to give the Bears the lead for good with 1:23 left. NYIT added a man-up goal late in the contest to seal the win and complete the comeback.
NYIT held a 50-27 edge in shots and a 27-20 advantage in groundballs.
Head Coach Jordan Levine and the Mavericks resume action on Saturday, April 23rd as they play at nationally ranked LIU Post at 1 p.m.
