Men's Lacrosse drops season opener to tournament host Palm Beach Atlantic

Stonehill's men's lacrosse team travelled south for the 2010 Sailfish Shootout, leaving the harsh New England weather for the more appealing Floridian climate. Their first game pitted Stonehill against the host, Palm Beach Atlantic University.

The opening stanza was a low scoring affair as the teams felt each other out. Stonehill's offense was frustrated early by PBA's well coached zone defense. The Sailfish drew first blood at the 6:28 mark with an unassisted goal by #3, Trey Darby. This would prove to be a trend for the remainder of the contest. The quarter ended with PBA on top, 1-0.

In the second quarter both teams' offenses picked up the pace. Stonehill senior captains Colin Lancey and Tom Higgins connected for their team's first goal with a nifty quick-stick one-timer. Sophomores Connor Green and Bobby Flippin tallied two more to give Stonehill a 3-1 lead, with assists from Flippin and Lancey respectively but the Sailfish would go on a four goal run to end the half with the scoreboard showing PBA up 5-3.

Stonehill opened the third quarter with three straight goals, grabbing their final lead of the game at 6-5. Junior Matt Coletti scored with a hard bounce shot to start the run. Next, Coletti found senior Dan Cermack on the crease, who then made a nice move to escape traffic and place a bounce shot in the top left corner of the goal. Lancey scored again on a feed from freshman Anthony Powers to put Stonehill on top, 6-5.

The Sailfish would not be silenced for long, however, regaining their lead with two goals before Coletti was able to answer and knot the game at 7-7 with an assist from Flippin. The tie was short lived as PBA scored four straight goals to end the third quarter at 11-7.

In the final quarter Lancey found the net four more times, with assists from Cermack and Green. Despite the effort, it was not enough to earn the comeback win as, PBA notched two more of their own to come away with a 13-11 victory and the Sailfish Shootout crown.

Freshman goalkeeper Mike Phillips made his college debut in net, recording 17 saves on the day. Defensemen Charlie MacDonald and Mike Moccia shined in transition, picking up valuable ground balls and forming the foundation of Stonehill's clearing game. Green and Lancey fought hard in the trenches, coming up with several faceoff wins and combining for an impressive 15 ground balls.