Newburgh, N.Y. – The Mount Saint Mary College Men's Golf team will travel to Connecticut twice this week in its final two outings prior to the Skyline Conference Championship. The Knights will compete in the Mitchell Invitational II on Wednesday before playing in a non-conference dual match with Western Connecticut on Friday.
 
At A Glace: Wednesday will be the Mount's first outing since hosting the MSMC Skyline Invitational on October 1 at the Powelton Club. The Knights finished third in the seven-team field, posting a team score of 318.
 
Matthew Ropiak (Staten Island, N.Y.) and Patrick Shea (Warwick, N.Y.) led the Knights with each shooting a 76.
 
Ropiak posted his low score of the season on Friday, finishing in a tie for third place in a field of 32 golfers. He joined Shea as with the team's low score with the duo finishing just three shots off the leaders.
 
Chris Shea (Warwick, N.Y.) also turned in a solid round on Friday, making his way around the par-70 course at the Powelton Club in a 12-over par 82. John Del Bene (Poughkeepsie, N.Y.) followed in 14^th place after finishing with an 84.
 
Gerald Burt (Staten Island, N.Y.) rounded out the five-team field for the Knights in a tie for 26^th place, finishing the round with a 96.
 
"I'm very proud of our boys today. We are incrementally improving as the season is going on and we are tracking to hit our peak right at the right time," said head coach Andy Crane.
 
He continued, "I'm extremely happy with the play of Pat Shea and Matt Ropiak. Patty has been our rock all season and is just continuing his excellent season and we have been waiting for a performance from ropes like this. We always knew it was in there and now that he knows he can do it, I'm expecting him to take off!"
 
Mitchell Invite History: Mount Saint Mary last played in the Mitchell Invitational in the Fall of 2019, winning the event in a playoff.
 
Matt Higgins fired a 79 on Wednesday, finishing second overall behind Mitchell College's Michael McCarthy who carded a 78. Sophomore Chris Shea (Warwick, N.Y.) shot an 80 on the par-71 course to finish third overall. 

Sophomore Patrick Shea (Warwick, N.Y.) and junior Daniel Schena (Cheshire, Conn.) each carded a 84 on the day as sophomore Owen Gallagher (Watertown, Mass.) made his 2019 debut and shot a 97 for the Knights.

The Mount picked up the win with a team score of 327 as Mitchell finished just behind with Knights with a 331. Dean College finished third with 338, Western Connecticut State finished fourth with 342 and Emmanuel College (MA) finished fifth with 452.
 
A Look At West Conn: The Colonials will also compete at Mitchell Wednesday afternoon and are coming off a fifth place finish at the Little East Championship held on October 8-9 in Castleton, Vt.
 
WestConn's top performer, for the second straight day, was freshman Cameron Bodamer (Charleton, Mass.), who finished tied for 18th after shooting a two-day plus-39, 179.
 
What's Next: Following Friday's match with Western Connecticut, the Knights will travel to Farmingdale, N.Y. on October 17-18 to take part in the two-day Skyline Conference Championship held on the Blue Course at Bethpage State Park.