HACKETTSOWN, N.J. – The Maritime men's lacrosse team got its season underway on Saturday afternoon against the Centenary Cyclones, and in a close battle throughout the contest came out on top by a 7-5 score.
 
Maritime was led by rookies Nick Pellegrino (Melville, N.Y./Half Hollow Hills East) and Ian Danahy (West Nyack, N.Y./Clarkstown South) with two goals each, while the Privateers also goal goals from seniors Rob Lalena (Bellmore, N.Y./Holy Trinity), Daniel Ahern (Kings Park, N.Y./St. Dominic) and sophomore Chris Stickney (Bay Shore, N.Y./Bay Shore).
 
In goal, rookie Brendan McNally (Long Beach, N.Y./Long Beach) made seven saves in his collegiate debut, while yielding the five Cyclone goals. At the faceoff X, junior Matt Hayes (Baldwin, N.Y./Baldwin) went 7-for-14 as he also led the team with four ground balls. Junior Jonathan Strezenec (Merrick, N.Y./Calhoun) led the team with three caused turnovers on the defensive side of the ball.
 
The Privateers got on the board first as Lalena found the back of the net for the first Privateer goal of the season, just three minutes into the opening period. Several minutes later, after a good clear by the Cyclones, Centenary evened the game at one apiece with 9:07 left in the first quarter.
 
Stickney got on the board next with his first strike of the season after a pass from senior Paul Grubb (Merrick, N.Y./Calhoun), to put the Privateers ahead 2-1. Centenary then won the ensuing faceoff and score once again to knot up the game again.
 
As the game progressed into the second quarter, Maritime again took the lead as rookie Julius Diaz (Freeport, N.Y./Freeport) found Pellegrino for their first career points, respectively, as the Privateers once again had a one goal advantage.
 
The Privateers added their fourth goal of the game on a man-up goal as Pellegrino had an unassisted marker to give Maritime a two goal lead with 7:36 left in the opening half. The score remained with Maritime leading by two into the halftime break.
 
The defensive battle continued between the two sides as neither side could put together any lengthy offensive possessions. Halfway through the third quarter, Centenary pulled back within one as the Cyclones snuck a shot past McNally. With 2:31 left in the period, the Cyclones tied the game for the third time on the afternoon with their fourth goal of the contest.
 
With the game tied at four, Maritime and Centenary moved to the fourth quarter with 15 minutes of regulation remaining to decide a winner. The Cyclones took their first lead of the game less than a minute into the period, at 5-4.
 
Needing to play catch-up for the first time in the game, the Maritime offense answered the call and on a goal by Ahern evened the game with 8:53 left in regulation. Danahy then gave Maritime the lead back at 6-5, and then scored again on a pass from Pellegrino with 3:44 to go in the game to give the Privateers a two goal lead.
 
The Maritime defense was able to hold the Cyclones to just three shots through the final minutes of the game as the Privateers held on for the 7-5 victory.

Freshman defender Victor Titone (Kings Park, N.Y./Kings Park) was named as the team's Hammer Captain, while Pellegrino earned the team's offensive game ball, and McNally earned defensive game ball accolades. Hayes collected the Helmet Award after the game as well.
 
Maritime (1-0, 0-0 Skyline) will take on Keystone in its next contest on Wednesday evening at 6:30 p.m. against the Giants in La Plume, Pa. Centenary (1-1, 0-0 CSAC) will be on the road for its next contest when it takes on Muhlenberg at Wednesday.