Men’s Lacrosse Carves a Pair of Victories

By Thomas Scavetta
Assistant Sports Editor

In a season-high nine point effort, senior attackman Matty Beccaris led the no. 14 men’s lacrosse team (7-3) to a 19-5 victory against Post University (4-5) on Wednesday, April 6, in a non-conference clash at Bethpage Federal Credit Union Stadium in Brookville, N.Y.

Senior attacker Ryan Slane and Beccaris teamed up for eight goals in the first half; clearing the lane for the Pioneers to leap out to a 14-2 lead at the intermission. In addition, graduate midfielder Jeremy Morgan and senior attacker Matt Bellando each found the back of the cage twice.

The Pioneers kicked of the latter stanza with remarkable defense from junior goalie Matthew Liantonio, who stopped the first three shots he faced. Bellando would eventually add to the lead; notching back-to-back markers in a 55-second span and extending the Pioneer lead to 16-2. Later pm, the Green and Gold scored three of the final five tallies of the contest.

Liantonio totaled a game-high seven saves in 45 minutes of action, as senior goaltender Adam Winne racked up six stops in the final 15 minutes.

Beccaris tied for the lead in goals with five and tacked on four assists to his stat-line. Slane finished right behind Beccaris, logging eight points (4 G, 4 A). Following Slane was Bellando, who netted five markers and added two helpers for a seven-point showing while junior midfielder Anthony Galeotafore had a field day, winning 20-of-26 (76.9 percent) faceoffs and scooping up 12 ground balls.

The Green and Gold returned to the field Saturday, April 9, in Old Westbury where they defeated fifth-ranked New York Institute of Technology (8-3) by a score of 15-5 in an East Coast Conference match-up at President’s Stadium.

Knotted up at two apiece in the first period, the Pioneers tallied six straight goals to claim a commanding 8-2 advantage. Sparking the run was senior midfielder Anthony Berardis, who scored two unassisted goals and was followed by Slane, who one-upped Berardis and netted three unassisted markers.

After leading 8-3 at the half, the Pioneers staged an impressive 6-0 spurt to put the game to bed. Morgan and Bellando each recorded two goals apiece during that stretch. Morgan had a field day, recording a seasonhigh four goals. A couple other Pioneers pithed in, including Berardis, who finished with three scores along with sophomore midfielder Dylan Harned, who cashed in with a goal and a helper.

Galeotafore continued his outstanding campaign winning 18-0f-21 draw controls. Between the pipes, Liantonio made seven saves for the Green and Gold while his counterpart, Alex Seltzer, collected five saves for the Bears.

Head Coach John Jez and his Pioneer squad look to improve to 5-1 in conference play as they prepare to commence a three-game home stand starting Saturday, April 16, versus ECC foe Dowling College at Bethpage Federal Credit Union Stadium in Brookville, N.Y. Opening draw is set for noon.