Marywood Weathers Seahawks' Comeback for 9-8 Win
Nick Mazzone tallied a team-best five ground balls in holding St. Mary's (Md.) to eight goals

Marywood Weathers Seahawks' Comeback for 9-8 Win

Men's Lacrosse - 2/25/2017 9:16:00 PM

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Scranton, Pa. – After waiting out a two-hour tornado warning, Marywood University held off a late St. Mary's College of Maryland comeback for a 9-8 upset victory Saturday in unseasonable February downpour. The Seahawks scored three consecutive fourth quarter goals to bring it to a one-goal lead but the Pacers held on for their second win in three games this season.

Vinny Biancardi was lights-out in goal for the Pacers with 20 saves, stopping 71.4 percent of shots on target faced. He also totaled two ground balls.

Matt Casto led the Pacers offensively with three goals and an assist. Zach Beja matched him with four points on two goals and two assists.

Nick Mazzone collected five ground balls with a caused turnover for Marywood. Luke McFadden tallied three ground balls and two caused turnovers. Riley Litman won nine of 21 faceoffs with four ground balls.

St. Mary's (0-3) had the tying goal called off when Connor Quinn registered a crease violation on a shot that would have evened the score at nine apiece with 2:55 remaining.

The Seahawks failed to score on each of their two possessions in the final two minutes. Biancardi made a save on a Ray LaPlaca shot with 57 seconds remaining. After clearing, the Pacers' Matt Casto was thwarted by defender Jackson Patrician, and Max Alderman retrieved possession for St. Mary's.

With three seconds left, the Seahawks' Dan Long fired a shot that was blocked in traffic. LaPlaca picked up the ball but his Hail Mary attempt sailed wide to ensure the Pacers' nonconference win.

It had seemed like the Seahawks were in their natural element on the water-logged field, finding the net just 28 seconds into the game on a Max Groen goal. Over 13 scoreless minutes went by before Beja kicked off a four-goal run that lasted deep into the second quarter.

Brant Junge tallied an unassisted goal with 5:34 left in the first half to go ahead 4-1. Connor Quinn connected with Michael Bucci to score St. Mary's second goal a mere nine seconds later. Casto tallied his third of the game with 11 seconds remaining before intermission to grow the lead to 7-3.

Offense did not come so easy for the Pacers in the second half with just two goals. Having gone scoreless for nearly 10 minutes, Sean Higgins scored grew the lead to 8-4 when he shot off of the goalkeeper's back from behind the net. After the Seahawks' Dan Long tacked on his second of the half, Eric Morin netted the Pacers' final score of the game with 9:50 remaining.

Marywood held off St. Mary's for the final 3:31 of the game.

St. Mary's won nearly every category but goals. The Seahawks outshot the Pacers by a 42-33 margin, had a 37-33 edge in ground balls., won 12 of 21 faceoff chances, and turned the ball over seven less times. However, St. Mary's only stopped seven shots to Marywood's 20.

The Pacers hope to carry their two-game winning streak when they head to Mount Saint Mary (N.Y.) on Tuesday. 
 
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