DOBBS FERRY, N.Y. – Despite a team-high three points from sophomore Cole Hunsberger (Waterloo, Ontario/Grand River Collegiate Institute), the RV Mercy University Men's Lacrosse Team dropped a 14-7 decision to No. 4 Saint Anselm College on Wednesday afternoon at Mercy Field.
The Mavericks (4-3) have dropped two games in a row and fall to the Hawks (4-0) for the fourth straight time.
The first quarter began with an intense start as junior Cameron Dorfman (West Islip, N.Y./West Islip) made several crucial saves to keep Saint Anselm at bay early on. Despite this defensive effort, the Hawks managed to take the lead with a goal from Ben Turpin, followed by another from Mark Boyle, assisted by Turpin to take a 2-0 lead with 5:13 left in the quarter. The Mavericks responded with a goal from Hunsberger, assisted by freshman Dean Kott (Farmingdale, N.Y./Farmingdale), narrowing the deficit to 2-1. However, the Hawks regained momentum, adding two more goals, including another from Turpin as time expired in the quarter. The quarter concluded with the Mavericks trailing, 4–1.
Mercy started the second quarter with a successful faceoff, leading to a man-up goal by junior Colin Orsino (Brookhaven, N.Y./Bellport), assisted by Hunsberger, capitalizing on a penalty by Saint Anselm, making it 4-2 at the 11:56 mark. The Hawks then responded with two consecutive goals, to take a 6-2 lead with 10:08 left in the half. The Mavericks regained their footing as senior Matthew Magyar (Floral Park, N.Y./Wingate University) found the back of the net to make it 6-3, and later assisted senior Jack Agres (Farmingdale, N.Y./Farmingdale) for another goal, balancing the scoring efforts. Despite a goal from Saint Anselm's Chris Claflin, the Mavericks' defense created critical stops, with notable saves from Dorfman. Mercy headed into halftime down, 7-4.
The third quarter commenced with the Mavericks trailing, aiming to shift the momentum. Dorfman provided critical saves early, halting attempts by Max Fowler and Matt Lemay. A Nicholas Palermo goal gave the Hawks an 8-4 lead at the 12:21 mark. The Mavericks capitalized on a turnover as sophomore Trey Weinstein (Kitchener, Ontario/Newberry College) scored off an assist from Hunsberger, narrowing the gap to 8-5. Junior Christopher Bergersen (Farmingdale, N.Y./Farmingdale) added another goal, further closing the deficit to 8-6 with 5:17 left in the quarter. Despite Mercy's efforts, Saint Anselm responded with goals from Lemay and Boyle, extending its lead to 10-6 with 2:53 on the clock. Agres contributed a late goal for the Mavericks, but the Hawks answered quickly with a goal from Eddie O'Brien. The quarter concluded with the Mavericks behind, 11–7, as they looked to rally in the final stretch.
Boyle scored for Saint Anselm at the 12:23 mark of the fourth quarter and Ryan Weller added a goal to give the Hawks a 13-7 lead with 11:08 left. Nathan Alberti capped off the scoring for Saint Anselm to make it 14-7 at the 3:39 mark. The Hawks held Mercy scoreless in the fourth quarter to earn the 14-7 win.
Mercy was led by Hunsberger who had a team-high three points on a goal and two assists and by Agres who had a team-high two goals. Magyar had a goal and an assist and Orsino, Bergersen and Weinstein also had a goal. Kott dished out an assist and senior Sean Higgins (Macungie, Pa./Emmaus) had a game-high four caused turnovers. Sophomore Michael Mitrano (Hilton, N.Y./Hilton) went 4-of-19 on faceoffs with two ground balls and sophomore Nicholas Filocamo (Levittown, N.Y./Island Trees) had four ground balls and a caused turnover. Dorfman made a game-high-tying 13 saves to take the loss.
Saint Anselm was led by Matt Lemay who had a game-high four points on two goals and two assists. Quinn Gannon went 16-of-19 on faceoffs with 14 ground balls and Finn Granara made 13 saves to earn the win.
Saint Anselm held a 47-29 edge in shots, a 27-20 edge in shots on goal, a 40-29 edge in ground balls and Mercy went 5-of-24 on faceoffs.
Head Coach Ryan MacSpadyen and the Mavericks resume action on Sunday, March 22nd when they host UDC at 12 p.m.
