Men's Lacrosse Falls to Top-Ranked Le Moyne, 10-5 Saturday

SYRACUSE, N.Y. * Sophomore Mike McDonald (Latham, N.Y./Shaker) scored two goals and set up three others to help top-ranked Le Moyne to a 10-5 win over No. 8 Bryant in a Northeast-10 Conference men's lacrosse game at the Thomas J. Niland Athletic Complex. The Dolphins (7-0, 4-0 Northeast-10) have won 64 consecutive Northeast-10 Conference games, while Bryant (5-2, 3-1 Northeast-10) suffers its first league setback of the season.

McDonald was one of four Dolphins with two goals. Senior Ryan Lewis (East Syracuse, N.Y./East Syracuse-Minoa), junior Matt Cassalia (Camillus, N.Y./West Genesee), and sophomore Brian Cost (Camillus, N.Y./West Genesee) joined McDonald with two goals each. McDonald, the team's top scorer as a freshman last season, leads Le Moyne with 22 points on 14 goals and eight assists this season.

Freshman Matt McKeefrey (Melville, N.Y./Half Hollow Hills East) led Bryant (4-2, 2-1 Northeast-10) with two goals. The two Bulldogs losses this season have come at the hands of the top two teams in the latest USILA Division II poll. Bryant suffered a 20-12 home setback to defending national champion and second-ranked N.Y. Tech on March 18.

Le Moyne was four-of-five on the extra-man, while the Dolphins defense held Bryant without an extra-man score in five tries. Le Moyne senior goalkeeper Jared Corcoran (Concord, N.H./Concord) made 10 saves, including five in the final quarter. Brad Burkhardt (Branford, Conn./Branford) and Michael Kennedy (Port Jefferson, N.Y./Comsewogue) made two saves apiece and allowed five goals each for Bryant.

Senior midfielder Craig Rosecrans (Niskayuna, N.Y./Niskayuna) and Cassalia delivered the Dolphins a 2-1 lead after the opening quarter. Le Moyne scored three times in a span of two minutes and 15 seconds to take a 5-1 lead. Cost scored off a feed from Alex Bily (Syracuse, N.Y./West Genesee), netted an extra man-goal off a McDonald pass and McDonald finished off a Rosecrans dish to give Le Moyne the four-goal edge.

Bryant netted two of the next three goals and trimmed it to a 6-3 game on McKeefrey's first goal of the game, 20 seconds into the second half. Cassalia scored off the ensuing faceoff and Lewis scored with just under two minutes remaining in the fourth to give Le Moyne an 8-3 edge entering the final quarter.

Senior Jason Longo (Cazenovia, N.Y./Cazenovia) and McDonald sandwiched goals around a Bulldog tally by senior midfielder Steve Coppinger (Bethesda, Md./Bridgton Academy) to give Le Moyne a 10-4 lead with 6:12 remaining. McKeefrey made the final 10-5 on a goal with seven seconds remaining.

Le Moyne's 64 consecutive Northeast-10 Conference regular season wins date back to the 1999 season. Today's victory equals Limestone's 64 straight wins in the Deep South Conference. That streak was snapped in a 13-5 loss at Queens (N.C.) University on March 8.


LE MOYNE 10, BRYANT 5
Bryant 1 1 1 2 - 5
Le Moyne 2 4 2 2 - 10

Bryant (5-2, 3-1 Northeast-10) * Matt McKeefrey 2-0, Jedd Storeshenko 1-1, Craig Buckhout 1-0, Steve Coppinger 1-0, Corey Crosbie 0-1. Saves - Brad Burkhardt 2 (5 goals against, 24:18), Michael Kennedy 2 (5 goals against, 35:42)
Le Moyne (7-0, 4-0 Northeast-10) * Mike McDonald 2-3, Ryan Lewis 2-1, Matt Cassalia 2-0, Brian Cost 2-0, Craig Rosecrans 1-1, Jason Long 1-0, Alex Bily 0-2. Saves * Jared Corcoran 10.

Shots * Le Moyne 27, Bryant 19
Ground balls * Bryant 30, Le Moyne 26
Face-offs * Bryant 12-18, Le Moyne 6-18
Clears * Bryant 13-18, Le Moyne 18-21
Extra-man * Le Moyne 4-5, Bryant 0-5
Turnovers * Le Moyne 10, Bryant 9