Rossi and Wilcox Score Twice as No. 13 Men's Lacrosse Hosts No. 12 Seton Hill on Senior Day
Box Score DOBBS FERRY, N.Y. (Apr. 30, 2016) – Senior Robert Rossi (North Massapequa, N.Y./Adelphi) and junior Nick Wilcox (Hamburg, N.Y./Hamburg) both scored twice as the No. 13 Mercy College men's lacrosse team suffered a 12-8 setback on Senior Day and Multiple Myeloma Awareness Day to No. 12 Seton Hill University on Saturday afternoon at Mercy Field.
In a ceremony prior to the game seniors Peter LoParo, Mike Perrone, Brandon Wood, Robert Rossi, Thomas Lackaye, Connor McLachlan, Kyle Stockton, A.J. Pellati, Justin Rohr, Joe Persico, Danny Chillianis, Ron Paulino, Alex Kaphon and Ben Shepherd were recognized for their careers as Mavericks.
The Mavericks (9-5) conclude their regular season with three straight losses, while the Griffins (11-4) have won two in a row.
Rossi added an assist, while freshman Ryan MacSpadyen (Toronto, Ontario/Seneca College) chipped in a goal and an assist. McLachlan and freshmen Bobby Chillianis (Bethpage, N.Y./Bethpage) and Max Littleton (Mahopac, N.Y./Mahopac) all recorded goals. Stockton concluded the day with an assist, while LoParo finished with a team-high-tying five groundballs and three caused turnovers. Pellati made the start in net and stopped five shots to take the loss. Sophomore Michael Schneider (West Babylon, N.Y./West Babylon) played the second half and made five saves.
Zach Hartmann and Erik Hultgren each scored three goals to lead Seton Hill. Goalie Merritt Bailey played the full 60 minutes with 12 saves to earn the win.
In a matchup between nationally-ranked teams, the Mavericks got on the board first with two consecutive goals from Wilcox and McLachlan to take a 2-0 lead with five minutes left in the opening quarter. Seton Hill showed they were up for the challenge as they came back with two straight goals to tie the game up at 2-2 with 1:50 left in the opening period.
The score remained 2-2 until the 8:36 mark of the second quarter when Rossi netted his 24th goal of the year to give Mercy a 3-2 lead. Jack Miller responded with a goal just over a minute later to knot the score up at 3-3. MacSpadyen gave the Mavericks the lead again with 3:10 left in the half, making it 4-3 with his 23rd goal of the year. Seton Hill followed with two goals to end the half, taking a 5-4 lead into halftime.
Zack Rusch opened the scoring in the third quarter with a goal at the 10:52 mark to give the Griffins a 6-4 lead. Wilcox netted his second of the day with 8:40 left in the third to get the Mavericks back within one, 6-5. However, the guests would rattle off three straight goals to end the period and headed into the fourth quarter up 9-5.
Hartmann opened up the final quarter with a man-up goal to increase the Griffins lead to 10-5 with just over 14 minutes left. Mercy continued to fight and Rossi and Littleton each found the back of the net to get the Mavericks within striking distance at 10-7 with 5:39 remaining. After a Jack Moran goal, Chillianis scored his goal of the day to make it 11-8 with two minutes left. Hultgren put the game away with his third of the day at the 1:24 mark to seal the win.
Seton Hill held a 41-29 edge in shots and a 31-28 advantage in groundballs. The Griffins won 19 of the 24 faceoffs and the Mavericks went 18-of-22 on clear attempts.
Head Coach Jordan Levine and the Mavericks resume play on Wednesday, May 4th in the ECC Lacrosse Championships Semifinal game against an opponent to be determined at a time to be announced.
