PURCHASE, N.Y. – The Manhattanville University men's lacrosse team were defeated by the United States Merchant Marine Academy in their Skyline opener on Saturday afternoon, 19-13. With the loss, the Valiants dropped to 4-7 overall and 0-1 in conference play.
Despite a 43-44 shot differential, the Valiants got off to a slow start as the Mariners came out with a dominant offensive display. Manhattanville got on the board first with a goal from Michael Swift (New Rochelle, N.Y./New Rochelle) who tallied a career performance (7 goals) before Merchant Marine responded with six straight goals to take an early 6-1 lead. Swift would score his second of the day at 12:04 to bring it back within four as the Mariners' leading scorer William Badeer would find the back of the net to take a 7-2 lead heading into the second quarter.
It would be a back-and-forth affair as Dylan Foley (Northport, N.Y./Northport) scored for the Valiants, followed by Jack DeTommaso scoring 30 seconds later for the Mariners. Manhattanville's Sean Larkin (White Plains, N.Y./White Plains) scored his one and only goal of the day, his 14th of the season to bring it back within four. The Mariners were dominant in each sequence, scoring another four straight goals to take a 12-4 lead. Swift responded with a pair of back-to-back goals to close out the first half, trailing 12-6.
The Mariners scored six straight goals to start the second half as the Valiants responded with a pair of their own from Swift to bring the score to 18-8 going into the fourth quarter.
In the final 15 minutes, it would be a comeback effort for the Valiants, outscoring the Mariners 5-1. A pair of goals from Cornelia, and one each from Palladino, Swift, and Berch would bring Manhattanville within six. At 7:49, Luke Holava would score the final Merchant Marine goal to secure the 19-13 win.
Joe Ulzheimer (Seaford, N.Y./Seaford) and Cody Johnston (Syosset, N.Y./Syosset) shared time in net for the Valiants as they combined for 12 saves, allowing 19 goals. Ulzheimer would earn the loss after getting the start, his 11th start of the season.
Nick Padovani (Mahopac, N.Y./Mahopac) and Aaron Goldstein (Walden, N.Y./Valley Central) both won a team-high eight faceoffs for the Valiants while defensively Palladino had a team-high six ground balls. Four caused turnovers were awarded to Matthew Newman (Yonkers, N.Y./Archbishop Stepinac), Palladino, Jarod Wilmoth (Harlem, N.Y./Cardinal Hayes), and Johnston.
The Valiants are back in action at GoValiants.com Field on Tuesday evening against Mount Saint Mary at 4 p.m.
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