Newburgh, N.Y. – The Mount Saint Mary College Men's Lacrosse team closed out the non-conference schedule on Saturday with a 21-7 home loss to visiting Wilkes. Four Knights finished the game with at least two points, led by three from junior Billy Holland (Pearl River, N.Y.).
 
The Knights got off to a quick start on Saturday, potting the first three goals of the game to open a 3-0 lead just under eight minutes into the tilt. Michael Gallucci (Northport, N.Y.) got the Mount on the board at the 11:45 mark of the first stanza with James Farrell (East Brunswick, N.J.) and Holland following over the next four minutes. Ryan Maraio (Staten Island, N.Y.) finished the run with a pair of assists.
 
Wilkes closed the first period with three goals in the final 2:16 to climb to within 4-3 after 15 minutes and went on to score six of the seven goals of the second stanza. The Colonels finished the second period with six goals on nine shots on their way to a 9-5 halftime advantage.
 
Mount Saint Mary held the edge in shots at the intermission 27-17 and in groundballs 31-17, but Wilkes won nine face-offs and received nine first half saves from Carter Whittemore.
 
Wilkes picked right up where it left off coming out of the break with the only six goals of the third stanza and held the Knights off the board in the second half until Trevor Cannella (Wantagh, N.Y.) scored his second of the season with 12:21 left in regulation time. Brandon Holloway (Modena, N.Y.) added his first goal of the year just under a minute later to close out the scoring for the Mount after halftime.
 
Holland pushed his team lead in goals to 16 on Saturday and recorded his 20^th point of the year after assisting on a third goal. Maraio moved his team lead in assists to 14 and his team lead in points to 25 with his two helpers on the day. Holloway and Gallucci each finished the day with a goal and an assist for the Knights.
 
Matthew Martino (Watertown, Conn.) caused three turnovers and picked up five groundballs for the Mount, while Vinny Vaccaro (Floral Park, N.Y.) caused four miscues and collected seven groundballs. Dennis Dowd (Hopewell Junction, N.Y.) won 10 face-offs on the day for the Knights.
 
John Wink had a hand in 12 Wilkes goals on Saturday, scoring five times and assisting on seven other goals. Luke Palladino scored five times and finished with eight points and was one of six players with a goal and an assist on the day. Andrew Moyinhan led the way with 19 face-off wins for Wilkes.
 
Eli Laikin (Oak Bluffs, Mass.) finished the day with four saves and three groundballs in 45 minutes for the Knights, while Whittemore earned the win with 15 stops for the Colonels.
 
Overall, Mount Saint Mary outshot Wilkes 44-40, while the Colonels posted a 27-23 advantage in shots on goal. Wilkes dominated face-offs 20-11 and finished with a slim 42-40 edge in groundballs.
 
At 3-7 overall on the season, Mount Saint Mary begins Skyline Conference play on the road at Farmingdale State on April 6. Face-off with the Rams is scheduled for 1:00 p.m.