Men’s Lacrosse falls to Wagner College in Overtime

BY ANTHONY CAVARRETTA
STAFF WRITER

The men’s lacrosse team had a turbulent day against Wagner College on Saturday, Feb. 15. Despite a comeback in the fourth quarter, the Sharks lost the non-conference game with a score of 9-8 in overtime.

The Sharks had a rough start to the game and went into halftime with a 1-4 deficit. However, the team managed to turn the game around in the second half, scoring seven goals including a 4-0 run during the final period. The team then took their first lead of the game, making the score 8-7.

LIU vs Wagner College in Men’s Lacrosse held at the Bethpage Federal Credit Union Stadium on the campus of LIU on Saturday, February 15, 2020. Photo by Alan J Schaefer

Despite having momentum, Wagner forced a turnover and took advantage when attacker Stephen Dwyer found the back of the net with 20 seconds remaining. The Seahawks won the faceoff and appeared to have won the game at the final buzzer, but the goal was disallowed due to a crease violation which shocked members of the crowd in Bethpage Federal Credit Union Stadium. The game was sent to sudden death overtime.

In overtime, Wagner won the opening faceoff and the Seahawks took a timeout after pushing the ball into the attacking zone. Once out of the timeout, Dwyer went behind the goal-line and split two defenders before he scored the game winning goal 43 seconds into overtime, giving Wagner College their first win of the season.

The Sharks had several contributors from the freshman players, such as attacker Richie Lacalandra who scored his first career goal and added a highlight-reel diving go-ahead goal. After the game, Lacalandra said he enjoyed playing at home even though the result didn’t end up the way they wanted. “That feeling playing our first game at home was awesome and it was a great game even though we lost in overtime,” he said. “If we played our hearts out the whole game it may have gone the other way.”

Looking at other Shark players performances, four Sharks, including Lacalandra scored twice during the game. Graduate student midfi elder Alex Russell, senior midfielder Dylan Villari, and sophomore attacker Jake Gillis all found the back of the net two times around. Junior defense Ryan Blume caused four turnovers and recorded a team-best five ground balls, and freshman goalkeeper Will Mark made 12 saves while stopping 57 percent of shots on goal.

The Sharks will return to action on Saturday, Feb. 22 when they host St. John’s University at the Bethpage Federal Credit Union Stadium at 1 p.m.