MONTCLAIR, N.J. – An eight-goal first quarter by hosting Montclair State put the Manhattanville University men's lacrosse team in a hole it couldn't climb out of on Wednesday evening as the Valiants fell to the Red Hawks 16-9 at Sprague Field. The Valiants drop to 1-3 overall with the loss, while Montclair remains perfect at 6-0.
Drew Palladino (Wantagh, N.Y./Wantagh) scored a season-high four goals to lead the Manhattanville attack effort, pushing his career total to an even 70 goals. The graduate student now leads the Valiants on the young season in goals (eight) and total points (12).
Dylan Foley (Northport, N.Y./Northport) and
Anthony Cozza (West Harrison, N.Y./Byram Hills) joined Palladino with multi-point games, combining for three total assists while each scoring once. Foley netted his sixth score of the season while picking up assists number three and four on the year, while Cozza earned his first points of the season with a goal and an assist.
Joe Ulzheimer (Seaford, N.Y./Seaford) (1-3) reached a double-digit save total for the fourth time in as many games this season. The senior goalie made 15 stops in the loss, his second-highest total this season.
Four Valiants—
Frank Tallerico (Monroe Township, N.J./Monroe Township),
Tyler Berch (Syosset, N.Y./Syosset),
Francisco Rosas (Stratford, Conn./Stratford) and
Dominic Russello (North Kingstown, R.I./North Kingstown Senior)—earned two ground balls each to lead Manhattanville. The visitors were limited to just 11 grounders compared to Montclair's 40.
Rosas forced a team-high three turnovers, now the first Valiant defender to reach double digits with 12 caused turnovers on the year.
Chris Mercado (Aberdeen, Md./Aberdeen) accounted for all five of Manhattanville's faceoff victories.
The Red Hawks came out firing, logging 13 shots on goal in the opening 15 minutes. The result was an eight-goal first period that put the Valiants in an insurmountable hole. Cozza and Michael Karabichak found the twine for Manhattanville in the frame, but the Valiants struggled to contain Montclair's attack, trailing 8-2 at quarter's end.
Foley opened the second quarter with a goal 18 seconds into the new frame, but the RedHawks answered with four straight goals.
Nick Corace (Sayville, N.Y./Sayville) scored his fourth of the year before halftime, moving the deficit to 12-4.
Defenses finally settled in for the third, with both sides surrendering just one goal apiece. Palladino scored from Cozza five minutes into the period, while Ryan Vierbuchen struck for the home team.
Montclair scored three straight in the first six and a half minutes of the fourth to put the game out of reach with an 11-goal cushion. Manhattanville continued to fight, scoring the final four goals of the contest. Palladino and
Chris Marinaccio (Greenwich, Conn./Greenwich) opened the run with unassisted tallies before Foley picked up a pair of assists on Palladino's final two strikes of the contest.
Up Next
The Valiants have a week to prep for their next outing, hosting Immaculata next Wednesday at 7 p.m.
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