FARMINGDALE, NY – The Maritime College men's lacrosse team entered Wednesday's contest at Farmingdale with a chance to clinch the No. 1 seed in the Skyline Conference Tournament.  The Privateers' postseason fate will come down to the final game, however, as Maritime (7-8, 5-1 Skyline) dropped a 13-9 decision to the defending Skyline champion Rams (12-3, 5-1 Skyline) at Rams Field.

Christopher Laino (West Islip, NY) won the opening faceoff, which Nick Uzakewicz (Hauppauge, NY) immediately converted into a goal that put the Privateers ahead 1-0 just 11 seconds into the contest.  Farmingdale took its first lead, 2-1, on Joey Forchelli's man-up tally at the 6:36 mark, but Jack Kane (Buffalo, NY) responded less than a minute later.  Tyler Mahood (Sleepy Hollow, NY) then gave Maritime a 3-2 cushion heading into the second quarter.

After the Rams tied it with 12:16 left until halftime, the Privateers struck back on a goal by Ryan Hannaford (Bayport, NY).  That was the first of three tallies in a 42-second span, as Sean Lawson leveled the score just eight seconds after Hannaford scored and Michael Weigand (Massapequa, NY) answered 32 seconds later.  Weigand scored again with 9:16 to go until halftime, then Mahood made it 7-4.  Thomas McCarvill (Port Washington, NY) extended the Maritime advantage to 8-5 before Farmingdale rattled off three goals in the final 4:59 of the half to send the teams into the locker rooms knotted at 8-8.

It would remain that way until the 9:14 mark of the third quarter, when Nicholas Mistler put the Rams in front.  The Rams added two more, extending their run to six straight goals, before Wiegand put away a man-up goal with 2:33 left in the third quarter to bring the Privateers back within two at 11-9.  That's as close as Maritime would get the rest of the way, though.  Adam Giovinco gave Farmingdale an insurance tally with 1:13 remaining, then Tommy Mai sealed a 13-9 win for the Rams a minute later.

Weigand had a hat trick for the Privateers, while Uzakewicz finished with six points on a goal and five assists.  Laino went 16-for-26 on faceoffs and collected 13 ground balls, and Hannaford picked up five ground balls to go along with a goal and an assist.  Brody Smith (Rehoboth Beach, DE), meanwhile, caused five turnovers and gathered four ground balls.  Goalkeeper Cristian Scaffaro (Brookhaven, NY) (7-6) made 12 saves in a losing effort.

Forchelli tallied four goals and an assist for Farmingdale.  Giovinco contributed four points on two goals and two assists, and Mai distributed two assists to go along with his late tally.  Sean Lawson paced the Rams with five ground balls, while Matt Durnin recorded three caused turnovers.  In addition to notching five ground balls, Connor Dobson (10-3) was credited with 18 saves, including 13 in the second half (while allowing just one goal over the final 30 minutes).

Maritime has one game remaining before the Skyline Tournament.  The Privateers conclude the regular season on Saturday, when they visit Purchase (1-10, 0-6 Skyline) at 12 p.m.