Box Score

THROGS NECK, NY – The 2009 season came to a close for the Privateer's men's lacrosse team, after losing 15-9 to the Montclair State Red Hawks, the Skyline Conference's regular season champion. The Red Hawks improved to 11-4 and remained perfect in conference play (5-0). Maritime closes the season at 7-7 and 2-3 in conference play. 

The game's first goal was not scored until 2 seconds left in the opening quarter, on a man-up play by Montclair's Tyler Meixner. Both teams were playing tough defense and had solid goaltender play. The Red Hawks took a 2-0 advantage 2 minutes into the second quarter, but Maritime's Lawrence Montreuil cut the lead in half only 36 seconds later. Andrew Marklin (Smithtown, N.Y./Smithtown East) assisted on the goal. Montclair rattled off the next 3 goals though, to take a 5-1 lead. Taylor Bonner scored twice and Robert Sinicola added his first of the game. A penalty on the Red Hawks gave Maritime a man-up chance with less than 2 minutes in the half, and Montreuil found the back of the net for his second of the night. Rob Lenseth (Yorktown, NY/Yorktown) was credited with the assist. The goal put Maritime down only 3 (5-2) at the half. 

Things were looking positive for the Privateers, as Stephen Doherty (Yorktown, N.Y./Lakeland) opened the scoring in the third quarter, cutting the lead down to 5-3. But Montclair tallied three straight to regain a 5 goal lead, but the Privateers never went away. They scored three of the next four goals to pull to 9-6, two of which were scored by Lenseth and the other by Steve Hackeling (Cold Spring Harbor, N.Y./Cold Spring Harbor). Mario Passafiume gave Montclair a 10-6 lead heading into the final quarter, on a goal scored with only 20 seconds showing on the clock. 

Down to the final 15 minutes, the Privateers opened the quarter with a score from Doherty, but Montclair once again had an answer, scoring two more to take a 12-7 lead with just under 8 minutes to play. Alex Korb (Islip, N.Y./Islip) and Michael Hanratty (Floral Park, N.Y./Floral Park Memorial) kept Maritime within 3 at 12-9, but the Privateers were unable to score again. Montclair closed the game with three straight, sealing an undefeated conference slate for the second straight season. 

Colin Gallagher (Minneapolis, Minn./Westhill) made 9 saves in the loss, while Thomas Bowers made 15 for the Red Hawks. Rob Lenseth (Yorktown, NY/Yorktown), Stepehn Doherty, and Lawrence Montreuil each scored twice, while Lenseth added two assists. Taylor Bonner, Robert Sinicola, and Tyler Meth each had 4 goals in the game. The Privateers won 17-28 faceoffs, and cleared the ball successfully on 20 of 24 attempts. Maritime was 2-4 on man-up opportunities, and picked up 39 ground balls. 

At the end of conference play, three teams are currently 2-3 in the conference; Kean, Maritime, and Farmingdale. The first tiebreaker is head to head competition, but all three teams beat each other. The second tiebreaker is win/loss against the teams above them (the first and second place teams) but all three were 0-2 against both Montclair and Richard Stockton. The third tiebreaker is goals allowed against the teams in the tie, and Kean had the least with 18. Kean earned the 3rd spot with that tiebreaker, leaving Maritime and Farmingdale for the final spot. Reverting back to the first tiebreaker, Farmingdale's head-to-head victory over the Privateers gave them the edge, and the 4 seed in the conference tournament. 

The Privateers have 5 seniors on the team, who were honored before tonight's game. Team Captain James Buttafuoco (Williston Park, NY/Holy Trinity), Vito Romano (Plainedge, NY/Plainedge), Brandon Middelton (Davidsonville, MD/South River), Rob Lenseth (Yorktown, NY/Yorktown), and Keith Fricke (White Plains, NY/White Plains). The rest of the team, along with the coaches and Maritime staff, would like to thank them for everything that they've done for their team and the program. The 5 will be missed in seasons to come.