BRONX, N.Y.  – The Maritime men's lacrosse team opened up Skyline Conference play with a convincing victory as the Privateers defeated the Mount St. Vincent Dolphins by a 17-4 final score from Gaelic Park on the Manhattan College campus.
 
Junior Nick Pellegrino (Melville, N.Y./Half Hollow Hills East) led the Privateer offense with five goals and three assists as he registered his highest offensive output of the season and second highest of his career. Last season Pellegrino had a nine-point effort at the Maritime Cup against Maine Maritime.
 
In addition to Pellegrino, junior T.J. Ragusa (Wantagh, N.Y./Wantagh) had three goals and one helper as he begins to get hot for the start of the conference slate. Freshman Danny Connell (Seaford, N.Y./Seaford) had another five points for the Privateers with two goals and was tied for the team lead with three assists. Senior Kevin Izzo (Cutchogue, N.Y./Mattituck) had his first multi-point effort of the season with two goals and one assist.
 
Junior Brett Daigle (West Sayville, N.Y./Sayville) had one goal and one assist, as did sophomore Ian Ziemski (Bel Air, Md./C. Milton Wright), and freshman Jackson Specht (Mullica Hill, N.J./Clearview Regional). Junior Julius Diaz (Freeport, N.Y./Freeport) and freshman Steven Martinez (Bronx, N.Y./Cardinal Hayes) had one goal each in the effort, while sophomore Michael Petty (Port Washington, N.Y./Paul D. Schreiber) had two assists on the afternoon.
 
On faceoffs freshman Nick San Filippo (Freehold, N.J./Colts Neck) was a perfect 17-for-17 on the draw and led the Privateers with eight ground balls overall. Specht added six ground balls, while Petty was third on the squad with four loose ball pickups.
 
Defensively Maritime was anchored by freshmen Dennis Hanley (Sayville, N.Y./Sayville) and Ryan Droluk (Wantagh, N.Y./Wantagh) with three caused turnovers apiece. Daigle along with rookies Joe Lugo (Dix Hills, N.Y./Half Hollow Hills East) and Patrick McAllister (Levittown, N.Y./MacArthur) each forced two turnovers apiece as Mount St. Vincent turned the ball over 29 times to lead to the Privateer lopsided win. Twelve other Privateers notched solo caused turnovers on the day.
 
In goal junior Brendan McNally (Long Beach, N.Y./Long Beach) got the start and picked up the win as he was tasked with stopping three shots sent his way while allowing just one goal in the opening 30 minutes. Junior Ian Ballou (Williamsburg, Va./Bruton) took over in the third quarter and played the full 15 minutes while making four saves. Sophomore Justin Weigold (Huntington, N.Y./Huntington) closed out the game with two saves in the final period.
 
Mount St. Vincent got on the board first with an unassisted goal just two minutes into the game. However it was a short-lived lead for the Dolphins as the Privateers netted the next 11 goals of the contest and held an 11-1 advantage in the early stages of the second half before Mount St. Vincent scored its second of the game.
 
Pellegrino scored his fourth of the game, followed by a strike from Ragusa to give Maritime an 11-goal advantage at 13-2. Maritime scored four of the game's final six goals and ran away with a convincing 17-4 victory.
 
Maritime (3-2, 1-0 Skyline) will play its final non-conference game of the season when the Privateers travel to Cadet Memorial Field in Connecticut to take on the Coast Guard Bears on Wednesday evening at 7 p.m.
 
Mount St. Vincent (0-3, 0-1 Skyline) will visit non-conference Albertus Magnus on Wednesday evening at 7 p.m. in New Haven, Connecticut.