PURCHASE, N.Y. – The Maritime men's lacrosse team improved to 5-0 for the first time in recorded program history on Saturday as the Privateers knocked off the Purchase Panthers by the score of 18-5 in their Skyline Conference opener.
 
In addition to the team getting off to its best start in recorded history, Maritime senior Brendan McNally (Long Beach, N.Y./Long Beach) picked up his 22nd career victory to set the modern-program record for victories by a goalkeeper.
 
Senior Nick Pellegrino (Melville, N.Y./Half Hollow Hills East) entered Saturday's game tied for the modern-day program goals record with 102, and with his goal at the 6:59 mark of the first quarter broke his tie with Donald Toby '08 to make him the modern-day goals leader. The modern era of Maritime men's lacrosse begins with the 2005 season.
 
Sophomore Danny Connell (Seaford, N.Y./Seaford) had a career-day with seven goals on the afternoon, breaking his previous career high of six set his last game against Western Connecticut on Wednesday evening. Senior Ian Danahy (West Nyack, N.Y./Clarkstown South) and freshman Collin Flannery (Shoreham, N.Y./Shoreham-Wading River) had multi-goal games with two goals apiece.
 
Freshmen Matt DeMeo (Sayville, N.Y./Sayville) scored one goal on the game to give him nine on the season, while classmates Bryan Keegan (Lake Grove, N.Y./Sachem North) and Chris Gaug (St. James, N.Y./St. Anthony's) both scored their first collegiate goals.
 
Sophomore Mark Buchner (Wantagh, N.Y./Wantagh) led the defensive effort with three caused turnovers, while senior John Piscitello Jr. (Bayville, N.Y./Locust Valley) had two forced turnovers on the game. Buchner had five ground balls, with long-stick midfielder Ciaran McEnroe (Pearl River, N.Y./Don Bosco Prep (N.J.)) scooping up five loose balls.
 
On faceoffs Maritime was led by freshman Joey Manno (Port Washington, N.Y./Paul D. Schreiber), who won 14 faceoffs, while leading the Privateers with seven ground balls.
 
In goal McNally made seven stops on the afternoon to clinch his fifth win of the year and the 22nd of his career. Senior Ian Ballou (Williamsburg, Va./Bruton) made one stop in his 10:32 of relief to close out the third quarter, while freshmen Kyle Bockelman (Melville, N.Y./Half Hollow Hills East) made one save and Nick Pasco (Sterling, Va./Potomac Falls) stopped two shots.
 
Maritime burst out of the gate with the first eight goals of the contest as Connell opened the scoring off a feed from Pellegrino. Connell scored again off a pass from junior Justin Weigold (Huntington, N.Y./Huntington), before Pellegrino made it 3-0 on an unassisted tally.
 
Pellegrino scored the next goal off a pass from junior Michael Petty (Port Washington, N.Y./Paul D. Schreiber) before taking a pass from Flannery for his third goal of the game to make it 5-0 through the first quarter of play.
 
Connell got back on the scoresheet with his third goal of the game to open the second stanza before scoring the next two goals to give the Privateers an 8-0 lead. Purchase scored next before Maritime answered back with a goal by Flannery off of a pass from DeMeo. Purchase added one goal late in the second to send the teams into the locker room with Maritime leading, 9-2.
 
The Privateers scored the first four goals of the second half as Pellegrino, Keegan, Connell, and Flannery pushed the Privateer lead to 13-2. After a quick Purchase goal, Maritime scored the next three as Danahy had two goals with a Connell goal sandwiched in between.
 
The Privateers allowed the first goal of the fourth quarter but scored the next two as DeMeo scored a man-up strike off a Pellegrino feed followed by the first career goal for Gaug. The Panthers added one goal in the final minute to close out the scoring as Maritime powered to the 18-5 victory.
 
Maritime (5-0, 1-0 Skyline) will return to non-conference play on Wednesday evening, when the team hosts Coast Guard for a 5 p.m. start on Reinhart Field.
 
Purchase (2-3, 0-1 Skyline) will be on the road on Wednesday evening, as the Panthers head up to Albertus Magnus for a 6 p.m. start in New Haven, Connecticut.