KINGS POINT, NY – Nick Uzakewicz (Hauppauge, NY) set a single-game program record with eight assists, as the Maritime College men's lacrosse team jumped out to a 13-6 lead after three quarters at Merchant Marine on Saturday.  The Privateers (5-7, 3-0 Skyline) then held off a furious fourth-quarter comeback by the Mariners (6-5, 2-1 Skyline) to hang on for a 13-11 victory at Brooks Stadium.

After Uzakewicz assisted on Ryan Hannaford's (Bayport, NY) man-up tally just over a minute into the contest, Merchant Marine scored back-to-back goals to take the lead.  However, Hannaford responded with two straight scores (both assisted by Uzakewicz) to put Maritime back in front.  Thomas McCarvill (Port Washington, NY) then added an unassisted tally to give the Privateers a 4-2 advantage at the end of the first quarter.

The Mariners leveled the score at 4-4 early in the second quarter before Tyler Mahood (Sleepy Hollow, NY) found the back of the net to give the lead back to Maritime.  After Merchant Marine tied it again at 5-5, Uzakewicz connected with Michael Weigand (Massapequa, NY) twice in the final 2:10 of the period to put the Privateers up 7-5 at halftime.  Kenneth Harrison brought the Mariners within one at 7-6 with 11:53 left in the third quarter, but Ryan Grider (Oak Ridge, NJ) scored 53 seconds later to start a 6-0 Maritime run.  Uzakewicz capped the rally with a goal at the 2:04 mark that increased the Privateers' advantage to 13-6 entering the fourth quarter.

It stayed that way until William Badeer found the back of the net for Merchant Marine with 8:58 remaining.  Kyle Hennelly scored 30 seconds later, and the Mariners rattled off three more unanswered tallies to get within 13-11 at the 2:04 mark.  Cristian Scaffaro (Brookhaven, NY) made two key saves down the stretch, though, as Maritime stopped Merchant Marine's comeback effort and avenged its loss in last season's Skyline semifinals.

Uzakewicz finished with nine points in the game.  Weigand had a career-high five goals, while Hannaford also recorded a hat trick and Mahood scored twice.  Christopher Laino (West Islip, NY) went 14-for-20 on faceoffs and picked up a team-best eight ground balls.  Brody Smith (Rehoboth Beach, DE), meanwhile, collected three ground balls to go along with four caused turnovers.  In addition to gathering three ground balls, Scaffaro (5-5) was credited with 16 saves, including five in the fourth quarter.

For the Mariners, Landon Locke led the way with three goals and an assist.  Kyle Hennelly recorded two goals and an assist, while Ryan Sullivan also found the back of the net twice.  Michael Hofstetter secured eight ground balls, and Tucker Kuhn added five ground balls, as Merchant Marine held a 35-31 advantage in that category.  Goalkeeper Julian Garcia (3-3) tallied eight saves in a losing effort.

With the win, Maritime moved into sole possession of first place in the Skyline.  The Privateers' next two contests are set for Reinhart Field, starting with a 7 p.m. matchup against St. Joseph's LI (3-6, 0-3 Skyline) on Tuesday.