NEWBURGH, N.Y. – The Mount Saint Mary College men's lacrosse team (5-9, 2-3 Skyline) picked up a big win on Senior Day, as the Knights defeated the College of Mount Saint Vincent (0-12, 0-5 Skyline), 16-10, in Skyline Conference action Tuesday evening at Kaplan Field.
The Knights' five graduating seniors,
Jack Capetola (East Rockaway, N.Y.),
Henry Schof (Montgomery, N.Y.),
Jake Robison (Franklin Square, N.Y.),
David Hobbs (Baldwin, N.Y.) and
CJ Cardo (Merrick, N.Y.) were recognized prior to Tuesday's matchup for all of their contributions to the Mount Saint Mary men's lacrosse program. The Knights also had a celebratory tailgate after the victory, once again commemorating their seniors' careers in the Blue and Black.
The Knights took full control of the game early on, taking a 6-0 lead across the first 21 minutes of play. Freshman midfielder
Dylan De Meo (Franklin Square, N.Y.) scored three of those six, and freshman midfielder
Danny Kugler (Wappingers Falls, N.Y.) tallied two. Freshman attackman
Tristan Earle (Milford, Pa.) got in on the action as well, scoring the third goal of the game for the Knights en route to a big night.
The Dolphins snapped the Knights' run with back-to-back goals by Josh James and Germain Ngaba midway through the second quarter. Sophomore attackman
Joseph Rizzotti (East Meadow, N.Y.) and Hobbs answered with two straight for the Knights to put them back up by six. Ngaba netted one more before the end of the second, but the Knights took an 8-3 advantage into the break.
Hobbs opened the third with his second of the game to put the Knights up by six once again. The Dolphins rebounded with three straight, cutting the Knights' lead to just three goals. Kugler got his third of the game with 6:52 left in the quarter, and that capped the scoring for the period, leaving the Knights up, 10-6.
Rob Lalli kicked off the fourth with two goals in the first three minutes to get the Dolphins within two. Freshman attackman
Nicholas Graziano (Franklin Square, N.Y.) notched his fourth of the year just 14 seconds later to put the home team back up by three, but Mike McEnaney got one right back for Mount Saint Vincent to make it a two-goal game.
The Knights woke up over the next six minutes, tallying five in a row to put the game out of reach with a seven-goal edge. McEnaney got one more before time could expire, but the Knights held on for the 16-10 final.
Earle and De Meo matched as the Knights' point leaders for the evening. Earle scored twice and dished out three assists, and De Meo scored three times and assisted two others. Hobbs and Kugler each scored three times, and Kugler tied for the game-high with five ground balls. Rizzotti had a four-point night with two goals and two assists. Junior defenseman
Mike Hargraves (Poughkeepsie, N.Y.) caused a game-best three turnovers.
Lalli tallied three goals to pace the Dolphins Tuesday evening. McEnaney, Ngaba and Michael Puchalski each netted a pair.
Freshman netminder
Christopher Doerr (Pleasantville, N.Y.) made eight saves in 45 minutes to pick up his fifth victory over the season. He also scooped up five ground balls. Ben Gashi suffered the loss for the Dolphins after yielding 16 goals, but he stopped an impressive 17 shots.
The Knights fired off 54 shots on Tuesday, a new single-game record for the men's lacrosse team. They held a 51-35 advantage in ground balls, and a narrow 15-14 lead in face-offs.
The Knights conclude the regular season on Saturday, April 25, as they travel to Union, N.J. for a Skyline Conference matchup with Kean University. The opening face-off is set for 4 p.m.
Follow the Knights on Twitter at
@MSMCKnights and the men's lacrosse team at
@MSMCLacrosse
