Kings Point, N.Y. – The Mount Saint Mary College Men's Lacrosse team suffered an important Skyline Conference loss on Tuesday, falling on the road at the United States Merchant Marine Academy by a score of 21-8. Junior Michael Gallucci (Northport, N.Y.) finished with three points, while classmate Eli Laikin (Oak Bluffs, Mass.) finished with 13 saves.
 
The Mariners got off to a fast start, breaking a 1-1 tie with five straight goals and six of the final seven in the first period to open a 7-2 lead after 15 minutes. Brian Schneider (Hicksville, N.Y.) brought the Knights even for the only time in the game at the 8:41 mark of the opening stanza, with Gallucci scoring his first of the game with 1:25 left in the first period to stop the five-goal run.
 
USMMA opened a 10-2 lead with the first three goals of the second stanza, before the Knights tallied consecutive goals in the final 2:30 of the first half to pull to within 10-4 at the intermission. Vinny Vaccaro (Floral Park, N.Y.) and Gallucci provided the second period goals for the Mount.
 
Through 30 minutes of play, USMMA outshot the Mount 30-16 overall and 22-9 in shots on goal. The Mariners dominated face-offs prior to the break, winning 14 of the 16 taken, leading to a 26-22 edge in first half groundballs.
 
The Mariners put the game away in the third stanza, outscoring the Mount 9-0. Jack Renard scored four times in the third stanza for USMMA with Liam Connors supplying one goal and four assists in the period for the Mariners.
 
USMMA pushed its scoring run to 10 goals with the first goal of the final period, before the Mount scored three straight goals over a nearly five minute stretch. Ryan Maraio (Staten Island, N.Y.) scored a man-up goal to start the three goal run, with Cobly Martin (Huntington, N.Y.) and Vaccaro finishing off the spurt. Matthew Martino (Watertown, N.Y.) finished off a four goal fourth stanza for the Knights with four ticks left in the contest.
 
Gallucci finished the night with two goals and a helper, with Vaccaro adding a pair of tallies for the Knights. Peter Beidl (Clifton Park, N.Y.) picked up five groundballs with Martino finishing with three caused turnovers, three groundballs and a marker. Marco Spagnuolo (Staten Island, N.Y.) won six face-off for the Knights and contributed four groundballs.
 
USMMA was led by five goals and six points from Renard with Connors finishing off a seven point night with three goals and four helpers. Charley Hughes had a big night in face-offs, going 19-for-23 with 10 groundballs.
 
Laikin finished a busy night with 13 stops, marking the third time in four outings he has stopped at least 12 shots. Zac Tilley earned the win with five saves in 30 minutes with Shannon Byrne II stopping four shots in 30 minutes of action.
 
Overall, USMMA held the advantage in each team category. The Mariners took the edge in overall shots 53-29, shots on goal 35-17, face-offs 21-10 and groundballs 46-34. The Mount finished the night 17-for-25 in clears and went 1-for-1 with the man advantage.
 
Wednesday's loss drops Mount Saint Mary to 5-10 overall and below .500 in league action at 2-3. The Knights will finish off the regular season on Sunday when it plays host to Maritime. Face-off with the Privateers is scheduled for 1:00 p.m.