Coming off a huge 19-9 over the United States Merchant Marine Academy on Wednesday night, the Maritime College men's lacrosse team stayed hot and improved to 10-3 overall and 4-0 in Skyline play with a 17-7 win over St. Joseph's Long Island on Saturday afternoon. The win also clinched a spot in the Skyline Conference playoffs for the Privateers.

Maritime wasted no time taking a lead as Mike Leake (Rockville Centre, N.Y./South Side) found the back of the net just 18 seconds into the game off an assist from Danny Connell (Seaford, N.Y./Seaford). A few possessions later, Leake was the one to facilitate the offense as he picked up back-to-back assists to Matt DeMeo (Sayville, N.Y./Sayville) and Bryan Keegan (Lake Grove, N.Y./Sachem North), respectively. The Golden Eagles continued to hang around in the opening period as they brought the score to 3-2 with eight minutes remaining. However, the Privateers offense exploded in the final eight minutes and tacked on five more goals to make it an 8-3 advantage heading into the second quarter. Danny Connell (Seaford, N.Y./Seaford), Colin Flannery, DeMeo, and Leake tallied the final five goals of the first quarter, with DeMeo netting two to make it a first quarter hat trick.

In the second quarter, Maritime's defense stepped up and locked down St. Joseph's Long Island offense and didn't allow a goal for the entire quarter. The impressive defensive quarter allowed the Privateers to take full control of the game as they tallied four goals to make it a 12-3 lead heading into the locker room.

The nine-goal halftime lead was enough for the Privateers to ride out for the rest of the game as they went on to hold their opponent below double digits for the fourth consecutive game. The 17-7 win also marked the third straight game won by double digits for Maritime.

Kevin Buser (Babylon, NY) was phenomenal in faceoffs for the Privateers as he went 21-27. The sophomore midfielder also picked up eight ground balls in the outing while Brett Trodden (Putnam Valley, N.Y./Putnam Valley) tallied a team-high 10. DeMeo led all scorers with five goals, bringing his season total to 59, while Leake dropped a 10-point performance with four goals and six assists. Justin Weigold (Huntington, N.Y./Huntington) picked up the win in goal with three saves in the first half, while Nick Pasco (Sterling, Va./Potomac Falls) went in goal for the second half and tallied six saves. 

Maritime will now face 12 days off before their next game on April 26 against Farmingdale St. at 7 p.m. The Skyline Conference matchup also marks Senior Night for the Privateers.