BUZZARDS BAY, Mass. – The Maritime Men's Lacrosse team opened up the 2016 Maritime Cup Weekend with a 7-2 victory over the host Mass. Maritime Buccaneers on Friday evening.
 
Sophomore goalkeeper Brendan McNally (Long Beach, N.Y./Long Beach) did not allow a goal through the opening 43:18 of competition, as he led the team to their victory and finished the game with nine saves.
 
Offensively, sophomore T.J. Ragusa (Wantagh, N.Y./Wantagh) recorded three goals, while the Privateers also got goals from junior Joe Fusco (Hopewell Junction, N.Y./John Jay-East Fishkill), sophomores Ian Danahy (West Nyack, N.Y./Clarkstown South) and Nick Pellegrino (Melville, N.Y./Half Hollow Hills East), and freshman Michael Petty (Port Washington, N.Y./Paul D. Schreiber).
 
Petty along with juniors Chris Haun (Necsonset, N.Y./Sachem North) and Chris Stickney (Bay Shore, N.Y./Bay Shore) also recorded assists in the contest.
 
Defensively, senior Kevin Connolly (Babylon, N.Y./Babylon) and sophomore Paul Lafrancesca (Nesconset, N.Y./Sachem North) picked up a pair of caused turnovers apiece, while senior Jonathan Strezenec (Merrick, N.Y./Calhoun) returned to the lineup and caused one, while scooping up a pair of ground balls.
 
Senior Matt Hayes (Baldwin, N.Y./Baldwin) was 7-of-10 on faceoffs, while picking up five ground balls. Ragusa led the team with six loose ball pickups, while Pellegrino added five. Lafrancesca and sophomore Joseph Hussey (Massapequa, N.Y./St. Anthony's) each added three ground balls in the win.
 
It took less than four minutes for the Privateers to jump on the board as Ragusa netted his first of the game just 3:45 into the contest off a pass from Stickney. The 1-0 lead held through the remainder of the opening stanza as McNally turned away both shots put on target.
 
The Privateers put together its best quarter of the game in the second, as the team collected three goals through the 15-minute stanza. Petty scored with 13:19 left in the half, followed by Ragusa, and a last-minute goal by Pellegrino to give Maritime a 4-0 advantage heading into the halftime break.
 
Maritime started the third quarter with a man-up opportunity but were unable to capitalize after shots by Fusco, Danahy, and sophomore Julius Diaz (Freeport, N.Y./Freeport). McNally made a save with 11:44 to go in the quarter, and did not face a shot until 10 minutes of game time later.
 
On that shot, with 1:42 left in the period Mass. Maritime snapped McNally's shutout with its first goal of the contest. The Privateers answered right back as Haun found Danahy to give Maritime a four-goal lead at 5-1. However, the Buccaneers won the ensuing draw and ran right down the field to score its second goal of the game with just three seconds left in the quarter.
 
As the game progressed to the fourth period, Maritime's defensive unit continued to flex its muscle as the squad held the Buccaneers to just three shots, all of which were denied by McNally.
 
In the fourth, Ragusa scored his third of the contest, while Fusco scored with just over a minute left to salt the game away in favor of the Privateers.
 
Maritime outshot Mass. Maritime by a 35-15 margin, with shots on goal in favor of the Privateers at 18-11. The Privateers also won 7-of-10 from the faceoff X, and were successful on 16-of-19 clear attempts.
 
Maritime (2-1) will look to hoist the Maritime Cup tomorrow afternoon, after its contest against the Maine Maritime Mariners. Game time is slated for 1 p.m. from Buzzards Bay, Mass.
 
Mass. Maritime (2-1) will look to come back from its first loss of the season, when it hosts Maine Maritime on Sunday morning at 11:00 a.m.