PURCHASE, N.Y. – Nick Cornelia (Lindenhurst, N.Y./Lindenhurst) scored a season-high four goals while the Valiants surged for six fourth quarter tallies, but the Manhattanville College men's lacrosse team was unable to erase a nine-goal deficit on Wednesday night, falling to SUNY Delhi by a final of 13-9. The loss drops the Valiants to 1-6 overall on the year.
Defense had the upper hand in the first half, as just seven total goals were scored over the first 30 minutes. In fact, it took more than ten minutes for either team to get on the scoreboard before Greg Junge scored for the visiting Broncos with 4:49 left in the opening quarter.
Harrison Yoguez (Trumbull, Conn./St. Joseph) would respond for the Valiants off an assist by Cornelia with 3:09 to go, but SUNY Delhi would retake the lead with 1:10 to go in the quarter, taking a narrow 2-1 lead into the second.
The Broncos got some distance with the first two scores of the second quarter before Cornelia netted his first of the night with 6:28 left in the half. While Sean Dalton would score for the Broncos six seconds later, both goalies and defensive units hung tough the rest of the way as SUNY Delhi took a 5-2 lead into the half.
The halftime adjustments worked for the Broncos as SUNY Delhi ripped off five straight goals to open up the first.
Matt Schneider (West Babylon, N.Y./West Babylon) was able to stop the run, finishing an assist by Cornelia with 4:26 left in the third, but Benjamin Moscatiello closed out the frame with the Bronco's sixth tally of the third, putting SUNY Delhi up 11-3. Cornelia opened up the fourth with his second of the night before Moscatiello struck twice more, giving the Broncos their largest lead of the night at 13-4 with nine minutes to go.
The Valiants were able to end the night on a high note, scoring five straight to close out the game. Cornelia earned his hat trick with 8:22 to go courtesy of a setup by
Jesse McGrath (Walden, N.Y./Valley Central). Manhattanville then scored four times in the final two minutes of play, starting with Cornelia's fourth off a pass from
Jean-Paul Harris (Miami, Fla./American Heritage School). McGrath got into the score column off an assist by
Sean Larkin (White Plains, N.Y./White Plains) before setting up Harris with 35 seconds to go. McGrath would fire the final shot of the night, scoring as the final horn sounded off
Patrick Magliocchino's (Thornwood, N.Y./Archbishop Stepinac) assist, but the offensive effort fell just short.
In addition to his six-point offensive night, Cornelia led the team with seven ground balls. McGrath and
Bryson Buchanan (Paterson, N.J./Paramus Catholic) ended the night with five each.
Melchi Agyapong (Bronx, N.Y./Cardinal Hayes) forced a leading four turnovers, while
Nick Padovani (Mahopac, N.Y./Mahopac) earned seven faceoff victories.
Jason Frezza (Lake Ronkonkoma, N.Y./Portledge) played a majority of the netminder minutes, playing 37:24 and making 11 saves.
Cody Johnston (Syosset, N.Y./Syosset) made two stops in his 19:52 of work, while
Mike Hopkins (Fox Lane, N.Y./Fox Lane) faced no shots on goal.
Up Next
The Valiants begin a three-game road trip on Saturday, traveling to SUNY Cobleskill at 4 p.m.
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