THROGGS NECK, NY – On Friday night, the Maritime College men's lacrosse team hosted the Skyline Conference Championship Game for the fourth consecutive time.  The Privateers came up short in their quest for a fourth straight title, however, as second-seeded Merchant Marine (10-6) defeated top-seeded Maritime (13-6) at Reinhart Field.

The loss, their first since March 12, snapped the Privateers' school-record 12-game winning streak.  It also marked the first time Maritime was topped by a conference foe since May 2, 2018, when Mount St. Mary knocked off the Privateers in overtime, 14-13, in the Skyline semifinals.  Maritime won 33 straight contests against conference opponents during that five-year span.

After tallying a season-high 24 goals in its semifinal victory over Mount St. Mary on Tuesday night, the Privateers were held to their second-lowest scoring output of the year against Merchant Marine.  Maritime also committed 29 turnovers, its third-most this season.

Merchant Marine's Carter Hall opened the scoring two minutes into the game, but Brian Drost (Shoreham, NY) tied it at the 11:10 mark of the first quarter.  It would remain that way until early in the second period, when Parker Reilly (West Islip, NY) put Maritime in front.  However, the Mariners responded with four straight tallies to open up a 5-2 advantage.  Reilly brought the Privateers back within 5-3 before Owen Barcus found the back of the net with 21 seconds left to give Merchant Marine a 6-3 halftime edge.

That goal was the start of a 6-0 Merchant Marine rally, as the Mariners notched the first five tallies of the third quarter to extend their cushion to 11-3.  Derek Walter (Ronkonkoma, NY) and Connor Tomich (Sayville, NY) found the back of the net 45 seconds apart to bring Maritime within 11-5, but Merchant Marine scored the final two goals of the quarter to push the margin back to eight, 13-5.

Maritime got a pair fourth-quarter tallies from Tomich, but the deficit proved too much for the Privateers to overcome.  With a 15-7 triumph, Merchant Marine clinched its first Skyline championship since 2018.

Tomich had a hand in five of the Privateers' seven goals, scoring three times and assisting on two others.  He finished the campaign with 86 points, the second-highest single-season total in program history.  Reilly, meanwhile, scored twice, his 51^st and 52^nd tallies of the year, which places him third on Maritime's all-time single-season goals chart.

Thomas Pellicci (Manorville, NY) went 11-for-15 on faceoffs and picked up a team-best eight ground balls.  Matthew Weigand (Massapequa, NY) added seven ground balls, while Kieran Hendry (East Northport, NY) contributed six ground balls and five caused turnovers.  Ben McGrady (Annapolis, MD) (13-5) played the first three quarters between the pipes and notched 10 saves.

Owen Barcus and William Badeer each had four goals for the Mariners.  Barcus also handed out two assists.  Jack Collins finished with two goals and three assists, and Jack DeTommaso added a pair of tallies.  Dom Mircak and Chris Neuman gathered four ground balls apiece, while Maverick Geller caused five Maritime turnovers to go along with three ground balls.  Goalkeeper Samuel Stephenson (9-6) was named tournament MVP after making 12 saves and collecting four ground balls.

This was Maritime's first-ever loss in the Skyline Championship Game.  The Privateers are now 3-1 all-time with a conference title on the line.