THROGGS NECK, N.Y. – Led again with a strong performance by junior Nick Pellegrino (Melville, N.Y./Half Hollow Hills East), the Maritime men's lacrosse team muscled past the Purchase Panthers on Wednesday evening by a score of 15-8.
 
Pellegrino buried a career-high six goals on nine shots, while also adding two assists for a total of eight points. The junior also added a team-high five ground balls on the night while also causing a turnover.
 
Sophomore Ian Ziemski (Bel Air, Md./C. Milton Wright) also had a career night with three goals on four points. Senior Kevin Izzo (Cutchogue, N.Y./Mattituck) rounded out the top offensive contributors with two goals and two assists for a career-high four points, and T.J. Ragusa (Wantagh, N.Y./Wantagh) handed out three assists.
 
Four other Privateers each found the space between the pipes as freshman Joe Lugo (Dix Hills, N.Y./Half Hollow Hills East), sophomore Patrick Fay (Nanuet, N.Y./Nanuet), freshman Declan Westman (Sayville, N.Y./Sayville) and senior Chris Stickney (Bay Shore, N.Y./Bay Shore) each put in one goal for Maritime. Fay also added one assist on the evening and picked up three ground balls, while Lugo also picked up three ground balls.
 
On the defensive end, junior Anthony Gervasio (Huntington, N.Y./Walt Whitman) and freshman Ciaran McEnroe (Pearl River, N.Y./Don Bosco Prep (N.J.)) and Jackson Specht (Mullica Hill, N.J./Clearview Regional) each caused two turnovers.
 
In goal, junior Brendan McNally (Long Beach, N.Y./Long Beach) made 11 saves on 29 shots for a 64.7 save percentage while only allowing six goals. Sophomore Justin Weigold (Huntington, N.Y./Huntington) and junior Ian Ballou (Williamsburg, Va./Bruton) each saw time in between the pipes, as Ballou made a save late in the second half for the Privateers.
 
After exchanging trips up and down the turf, Purchase found the scoreboard first, but Ragusa found Pellegrino twice in 31 seconds as Maritime took a 2-1 lead. Purchase tied it up with 2:34 left in the first quarter, but Pellegrino scored his 21^st goal of the season and third of the game on an unassisted goal with less than one minute to play. From there, Maritime would never trail for the remainder of the game.
 
Maritime unleashed four straight goals to give the Privateers a 7-3 edge midway through the second quarter, taking advantage of two Purchase penalties on the way. After another Panther score, Izzo connected on his second goal of the game with the help of Pellegrino with one second remaining in the first half as the Privateers led 8-4 at halftime.
 
After the midway break, Purchase scored first, however Fay scored to sustain a four-goal Privateer lead. The Panthers continued to chip away on their comeback attempt and scored another goal, however the Privateers continued to shut the door as Pelligrino came up with a big goal with 23 seconds left in the third.
 
In the fourth, Ziemski found his time to shine, netting three straight Privateer goals within six minutes with assists from Pellegrino, Fay and Gomes as Maritime began to pull away, 14-6. Purchase scored again with 3:13 left, but freshman Declan Westman (Sayville, N.Y./Sayville) put the game away with the final Privateer goal assisted by classmate Shawn Callahan (Massapequa Park, N.Y./Massapequa) with 53 seconds remaining.
 
For the game, Maritime applied the pressure all night long, dominating the shots category 47-33. Purchase also made 21 saves over the 60 minutes compared to Maritime's 12. The Privateers cleared 19 of their 22 attempts while only turning the ball over 18 times, and faceoffs were about 50/50 on the night with 13 Maritime faceoff wins.
 
Regrasping their .500 record, Maritime is now 4-4 on the season and 2-1 in the Skyline Conference.  The Privateers conclude their three-game stretch of home contests with a meeting against Merchant Marine on Saturday April 1^st for a Skyline matchup. Faceoff at Reinhart Field is set for 1:00 P.M.
 
Up next for Purchase is an away test at Stockton, also set for April 1^st with a 7:00 P.M. faceoff.