KINGS POINT, N.Y. - Rookie attackman
Thomas Keegan (Lake Grove, N.Y.) notched a hat trick but it wasn't enough as the Western Connecticut State University men's lacrosse squad fell at the United States Merchant Marine Academy, 15-10, in a non-conference tilt on Saturday afternoon at Brooks Stadium.
Senior middie
Tristan McMahon (Farmingville, N.Y.) and junior midfielder
Sam Rosa (Trumbull, Conn.) contributed two goals and one assist apiece for the Wolves. Owen Behr racked up six scoring strikes and dished out a trio of helpers to lead the hosts who controlled the ground ball battle, 47-28, while also holding the edge in faceoffs, 18-11.
The Mariners erupted out of the gate to snag a 3-0 lead as Behr found the back of the cage twice. WestConn struck right back to even the count at 3-3 while Keegan accounted for a pair during the flurry. The hosts then countered with yet another run. This time Behr added his third and fourth markers as USMMA seized at 7-3 advantage as the teams entered the break.
The Wolves sliced the gap to 7-5 when Keegan scored, unassisted. However, the Mariners retaliated with yet another three-goal spurt to move ahead 10-5. The visitors clawed their way back into it when Rosa tickled the twine with a USMMA player in the penalty box to trim it to 12-10 with just under 10 minutes remaining in regulation. But the Mariners put the finishing touches on the contest with another trio of goals to seal the win.
With the loss, WestConn dropped to 2-1 overall while the Mariners improved to 3-0. The Wolves will look to regroup at home when they square off against non-league opponent Clark University on Wednesday at 5 p.m.
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