THROGGS NECK, NY – The Maritime College men's lacrosse team began the defense of its Skyline Conference championship on Wednesday night with a matchup against New Paltz.  And the Privateers (1-0) began the season in impressive fashion, scoring the first six goals of the game en route to a 13-4 victory over the Hawks (0-1) at Reinhart Field.

Sean Foley (Long Beach, NY) got Maritime on the board just 1:56 into the contest, with Josh Fix (Islip, NY) and Patrick Schnell (Jericho, NY) adding goals to make it 3-0 after the first quarter.  John Killcommons (Garden City, NY) then found the back of the net 20 seconds into the second quarter, and the Privateers eventually built a 6-0 lead before New Paltz scored its first goal with five minutes left until halftime.  Fix added a second tally late in the period to put Maritime ahead 7-1 at the break.

After New Paltz opened the scoring in the second half, the Privateers rattled off three straight goals to increase their cushion to 10-2.  James Flanagan's second tally of the night brought the Hawks within 10-3, but Maritime responded with two more to go up 12-3.  The final score was 13-4, as the Privateers started the season with a victory for the third straight year.

Steven Pinto (Oakdale, NY) had five points for the Privateers, scoring three times while adding two assists. Foley also had a hat trick to go along with an assist, while Fix was credited with a pair of goals. Schnell recorded a goal and two assists, and Derek Walter (Ronkonkoma, NY) contributed a goal and an assist.

Christian Vera (Baldwin, NY) and Joe Kiernan (Northport, NY) led Maritime with four ground balls apiece, and Kiernan also caused four turnovers.  Jack Daresta (Massapequa, NY) (1-0) made 11 saves in the win.

For New Paltz, Flanagan tallied a pair of goals, while Thomas Arnetta also had two points with a goal and an assist.  Nate Lindsey (0-1) led the Hawks with five ground balls and made four saves between the pipes.  Ryan Steinhart replaced Lindsey at halftime and stopped 11 Maritime shots.

Maritime continues its season-opening five-game homestand on Saturday, when Oneonta (0-1) visits Reinhart Field at 3 p.m.  The contest follows the women's lacrosse team's season opener against Wilkes at 12 p.m.