Rossi Scores Team-High Three Goals as No. 13 Men's Lacrosse Plays at No. 8 LIU Post
Box Score DOBBS FERRY, N.Y. (Apr. 23, 2016) – Despite a team-high three goals from senior Robert Rossi (North Massapequa, N.Y./Adelphi) and nearly overcoming a four-goal deficit, the No. 13 Mercy College men's lacrosse team dropped a, 10-9, decision at No. 8 LIU Post in an ECC matchup on Saturday afternoon at Bethpage Stadium.
The Mavericks (9-4, 5-3 ECC) have now dropped two in a row, while the Pioneers (9-3, 6-1 ECC) have won five in a row.
Also, contributing for Mercy was freshman Ryan MacSpadyen (Toronto, Ontario/Seneca College) who finished with two goals and an assist, while junior Nick Wilcox (Hamburg, N.Y./Hamburg) added a goal and three assists. Freshman Bobby Chillianis (Bethpage, N.Y./Bethpage) netted a pair and senior Kyle Stockton (Medford, N.Y./Patchogue-Medford) ended up with a goal and an assist. Senior Peter LoParo (Ridgewood, N.J./Ridgewood) capped off the day with a team-high four groundballs and sophomore Michael Schneider (West Babylon, N.Y./West Babylon) played the second half in net with seven saves to take the loss and fall to 3-4.
Matt Bellando led all scorers for LIU Post with four goals and an assist. Matthew Liantonio made the start in net and played the full 60 minutes with six saves to pick up the victory.
Mercy, playing their second consecutive game against a nationally-ranked opponent, fell behind early as the Pioneers jumped out to a 4-1 lead with 4:20 left in the first quarter. MacSpadyen got the Mavericks on the board at the 10:32 mark after LIU Post opened the scoring with a goal less than a minute in. Rossi cut the deficit to 4-2 with his 21st goal of the year off a feed from Wilcox. However, Dylan Harned followed with a goal just before the end of the period to give the hosts a 5-2 advantage after one quarter of play.
Matty Beccaris opened up the scoring in the second quarter for the Pioneers to give them their largest lead of the game, 6-2, with 10:29 left before halftime. However, the Mavericks were not going down without a fight as Stockton and Rossi immediately answered with two goals to cut the LIU Post lead to 6-4 with 6:15 remaining in the period.
The Pioneers upped the lead back to four, 8-4, with three minutes left, but MacSpadyen closed the deficit to three, 8-5, with his second of the game as the two teams headed into the intermission.
Mercy came out fired up to start the third quarter and scored the lone two goals of the period to trail by just one, 8-7, heading into the final quarter. Chillianis and Rossi would pick up the goals in the frame and Schneider made four saves in the quarter to keep the Pioneers off the board.
Beccaris found the back of the net less than a minute into the fourth quarter to make it 9-7. Chillianis and Wilcox then followed with goals to tie the game up at 9-9 with 5:53 remaining. Mercy looked to be on the verge of overtaking the hosts, but a Bellando man-up goal at the 1:39 mark gave the Pioneers the lead for good at 10-9.
LIU Post held a 44-23 edge in shots and a 23-14 advantage in groundballs. The Mavericks went 11-of-17 on clear attempts and 8-of-21 on faceoffs. Mercy went 3-of-6 on man-up opportunities.
Head Coach Jordan Levine and the Mavericks resume action on Saturday, April 30th when they host Seton Hill at 12 p.m.
