THROGGS NECK, N.Y. – The Maritime men's lacrosse team defeated the Colonials of Western Connecticut, 14-7, on Wednesday evening on Reinhart Field. With the victory, it is the first 4-0 start in program history since 1974.
 
Senior Nick Pellegrino (Melville, N.Y./Half Hollow Hills East) netted five goals along with three assists to give him a game-high eight points on the night. With his third goal on the night, Pellegrino netted his 100th career goal.
 
Sophomore Danny Connell (Seaford, N.Y./Seaford) led the Privateers with a game-high six goals. Freshman attacker Matt DeMeo (Sayville, N.Y./Sayville) tallied four points on the game, scoring two goals to go with two assists. Classmate Collin Flannery (Shoreham, N.Y./Shoreham-Wading River) scored one more goal for Maritime while junior midfielder Brett Trodden (Putnam Valley, N.Y./Putnam Valley) recorded two assists.
 
Sophomore defender Mark Buchner (Wantagh, N.Y./Wantagh) recorded seven ground balls for the Privateers and John Piscitello Jr. (Bayville, N.Y./Locust Valley) added five to his tally. Junior midfielders Michael Petty (Port Washington, N.Y./Paul D. Schreiber) and Justin Weigold (Huntington, N.Y./Huntington) each had two caused turnovers for Maritime. Petty scooped up four ground balls and Weigold picked up three.
 
In goal senior Brendan McNally (Long Beach, N.Y./Long Beach) stopped five shots on target while yielding four goals to Western Connecticut. McNally also scooped four ground balls in the win and caused two turnovers for the Privateers. With the win, McNally tied the modern career wins record with 21.
 
Maritime got off to a hot start with two early goals from DeMeo in the first 66 seconds. Pellegrino scored his first goal of the night at the 7:09 mark to put the Privateers up 3-0. Connell scored the next two goals for Maritime, the first at 5:09 and the second with just over one minute remaining in the first quarter to make the score 5-0. Western Connecticut scored their first goal with 30 seconds left in the first quarter to make it 5-1.
 
The Colonials scored the first goal of the second quarter making the score 5-2 at 5:07 mark. Flannery netted his first goal at the 4:44 mark and Pellegrino scored the next two goals to put Maritime up 8-2 at the break.
 
To begin the third quarter, Western Connecticut scored first but Maritime responded with four straight goals to put them up 12-3. Each team scored one more goal to close out the third quarter.
 
The Privateers added one more goal thanks to Pellegrino making the score 14-4. Western Connecticut scored the final three goals of the game, but it was not enough as Maritime would go on to win 14-7.
 
Maritime (4-0) will return to action on Saturday afternoon as the team visits Purchase to open Skyline Conference play. The game will begin at 12:00 p.m. at the Purchase Turf Field.
 
Western Connecticut (1-4) will return to play on the road against Regis for its next game. The game will begin at 3 p.m. on Saturday afternoon.