Newburgh, N.Y. – Led by two goals and seven points from junior Ryan Maraio (Staten Island, N.Y.), the Mount Saint Mary College Men's Lacrosse team overcame a 4-3 halftime deficit to post a 14-5 non-conference win over Bard to open the 2019 season on Saturday.
 
After the Mount got a goal from Anthony Kearns (Clinton, N.J.) to open the scoring on the day, the Raptors scored the next two to move in front 2-1. Billy Holland (Pearl River, N.Y.) brought the Mount even late in the opening stanza, but the visitors scored two of the three goals in the second period to carry a 4-3 lead into halftime.
 
The Knights outshot Bard 21-15 overall in the opening 30 minutes, but shots on goal before halftime were even at 8-8. Each team won four face-offs over the first two periods and Bard held a slim 15-12 edge in groundballs at the break.
 
The Mount opened the game up for good in the third period, outscoring Bard 7-0 to carry a 10-4 lead into the final stanza. Maraio led the third period charge with a pair of goals, including the eventual game winner, and a trio of assists.
 
Corey Rich scored his third goal of the game to start the fourth quarter for the visitors and gave them their first tally since the 8:17 mark of the second quarter, but the Mount scored the final four goals of the game to seal the nine goal victory. Holland paced the closing run with a goal and an assist for the Knights.
 
Maraio finished the day with two goals and five assists for a game-high seven points, while Kearns, Thomas Bahmer III (East Brunswick, N.J.) and Vinny Vaccaro (Floral Park, N.Y.) each posted a pair of goals. Holland rounded out the win with three markers and an assist with Michael Gallucci (Northport, N.Y.) accounting for a goal and a pair of helpers.
 
Matthew Martino (Watertown, Conn.) led the defensive effort with six caused turnovers with Danny Marshall (Oceanside, N.Y.) adding four. Senior Peter Beidl (Clifton Park, N.Y.) closed the day with four groundballs and a caused turnover for the Knights.
 
Junior Eli Laikin (Oak Bluffs, Mass.) made the start in goal and picked up the win with 11 saves. Lyle Healey suffered the loss with 12 stops for the Raptors.
 
Mount Saint Mary finished the contest with a 44-27 advantage in overall shots and a 26-16 edge in shots on goal. The Mount took the edge in groundballs 28-26 and were an efficient 20-for-23 on clearing attempts.
 
 The Knights won 10 of the 13 face-offs taken after halftime and finished with a 14-7 edge in the category. Marco Spagnuolo (Staten Island, N.Y.) finished the day 14-for-21 in face-offs and collected a pair of groundballs.
 
At 1-0 on the season, the Mount will take to the road for the first time on Tuesday when it heads to Western Connecticut. Face-off with the Colonials is set for 6:00 p.m.