THROGGS NECK, N.Y. – The Maritime men's lacrosse team erased a 4-1 deficit in its season opener on Saturday afternoon, outscoring the Centenary Cyclones 8-1 to close out the game as the Privateers picked up the 9-5 win on Reinhart Field.
 
Maritime was led by senior Nick Pellegrino (Melville, N.Y./Half Hollow Hills East) and freshman Brett Trodden (Putnam Valley, N.Y./Putnam Valley), who each had three points with one goal and two assists apiece. Freshmen Matt DeMeo (Sayville, N.Y./Sayville) and Collin Flannery (Shoreham, N.Y./Shoreham-Wading River) each had two goals on  the afternoon, while senior T.J. Ragusa (Wantagh, N.Y./Wantagh), junior Ian Ziemski (Bel Air, Md./C. Milton Wright) and sophomore Danny Connell (Seaford, N.Y./Seaford) each scored goals on the afternoon.
 
Senior defender John Piscitello Jr. (Bayville, N.Y./Locust Valley) led the defensive effort with three caused turnovers, while eight other Privateers had one forced turnover on the afternoon. Sophomore Mark Buchner (Wantagh, N.Y./Wantagh) led in ground balls as he scooped up five on the game, while Piscitello and Ziemski each had three loose ball pickups. Pellegrino and junior Justin Weigold (Huntington, N.Y./Huntington) each had two ground balls on the day.
 
In goal senior Brendan McNally (Long Beach, N.Y./Long Beach) stopped 14 shots on target while yielding the five Cyclone goals. McNally also had a pair of ground balls in the win.
 
Centenary was on the scoreboard first with a goal just 68 seconds into the contest. Maritime responded with a man-up tally as Trodden netted the first of his career off of a feed from Pellegrino to even the score at one. The Cyclones added two more goals in the opening period for the 3-1 lead heading into the second.
 
Just 37 seconds into the second stanza Centenary increased its lead to three with a 4-1 advantage.
 
The Privateers got a key defensive stop and successful clear as Maritime set up its offense with Connell finding Pellegrino for the goal to slice the lead in half. Maritime scored again a few minutes later as Connell netted his first of the season to pull the Privateers back within one heading into the halftime break.
 
The Cyclones opened the second half with another goal with 12:48 left in the period. After a lengthy dry spell from both sides the freshman connection of Trodden and DeMeo connected on a pair of goals just two minutes apart. The two were the first two goals of the career for DeMeo, while Trodden added his second and third career points as the team evened the game at five.
 
The Privateers took advantage of a short Centenary lineup and took complete control of the fourth quarter on both ends of the ball. The first offensive possession of the quarter resulted in three shots as the third came from the stick of Ziemski, who picked up his first goal of the game to give Maritime its first lead of the game.
 
Flannery gave Maritime some breathing room with a goal in transition off a feed from sophomore Ciaran McEnroe (Pearl River, N.Y./Don Bosco Prep (N.J.)) to give the Privateers a two-goal edge. Ragusa added his first of the year, followed by the second goal of the game for Flannery as the Privateers ran away late for the 9-5 victory.
 
Maritime (1-0) will return home on Wednesday evening as the team will play host to the Drew Rangers for a 7 p.m. start on Reinhart Field.
 
Centenary (0-1) will be on the road against Alvernia for its next contest, taking place in Reading, Pa. The game begins at 4 p.m. on Wednesday afternoon.