NEWBURGH, N.Y.  –  After pulling to within five with a quarter to play, the Mount Saint Mary College men's lacrosse team faltered in the fourth and eventually dropped an 18-4 decision to Kean University on Wednesday evening. The Knights move to 7-8 on the year and 1-4 in Skyline play, while the Cougars improve to 10-5 overall and 4-1 in the conference.

Just 59 seconds into the contest, Kean junior Tom Clifford (West Islip, N.Y.) netted an unassisted tally to put the Cougars on top, 1-0. Kean increased their lead to three, before Mount sophomore Matt O'Donnell (Wallkill, N.Y.) finished a pass from junior Nick Findlay (Elmont, N.Y.) to get the Knights on the board with 1:33 remaining in the first.
The Knights were scoreless in the second quarter, as the Courgars used four goals to extend their lead to six, 7-1, at the conclusion of the second.

Kean sophomore John Marcelli (Moorestown, N.J.) opened up scoring in the third quarter to pull ahead by seven with 13:32 on the clock. Mount freshman CJ Cardo (Merrick, N.Y.) buried a feed from Findlay just a minute later to give the Knights their second goal of the game.

The Knights quickly made it a five goal game, as Mount freshman David Hobbs (Baldwin, N.Y.) finished a highly contested shot at the 10:56 mark. Kean responded with a goal by sophomore Richard Chiefitz (Fair Lawn, N.J.) to extend their lead to six, 9-3.

With 4:30 left in the third, Findlay dished the ball to junior Logan Sollami (Cornwall, N.Y.), who then buried a shot to pull the Knights to within five. After a convincing third quarter, turnovers plagued the Knights in the fourth quarter and the Cougars erupted for a 9-0 run to close out the game.  

Hobbs, Sollami, Cardo and O'Donnell accounted for the Knights' four goals, while Findlay was credited with three assists. In 52 minutes of play, sophomore goalie Shawn Cobstill (Oneonta, N.Y.) made nine saves.

Cheifitz led the Cougars with five points (2G, 3A), Marcelli added four points (2G, 2A) and freshman Dylan Conte (Glen Ridge, N.J.) chipped in with two goals. Ten other players recorded at least one point for the Cougars. Junior goalie Lane Zierten (Washington Township, N.J.) earned the win in net, tallying five saves.

The Knights close out the 2012 season at Montclair State on Saturday, April 21. The game is set to begin at 1:00 p.m.