The LIU Post men’s lacrosse team saw itself slide down three steps to fifth seed on the USILA and Lacrosse Magazine Division II Top-15 rankings last Monday, March 16, after a hard-fought battle at Adelphi University.
But the Pioneers recovered sturdily from the results of a seemingly unimportant poll thus far in the season. Junior attackman Ryan Slane’s goal scoring led the Pioneers to two victories to finish off their three-game home stand in the East Coast Conference.
Slane went on a six-goal roll in the match-up against the University of the District of Columbia Firebirds that led the hosts to a comfortable 13-5 win. Fellow junior attackman Matty Beccaris also recorded six points, four of which were assists.
Despite a 1-1 mark long into the first stanza, the Firebirds didn’t have much to say that afternoon. Once LIU Post notched three tallies with only minutes to go before the break, the guests were unable to respond.
The Pioneers totaled 45 shots over the four quarters while the Firebirds fired off 23. Neat and orderly, the Pioneers brushed off most of the ashes from offensive Firebird attacks as the defense stood for 15-of-18 clears.
LIU Post returned to the castle on Saturday, March 21, against Chestnut Hill, eager to continue their perfect ECC record. The hosts started off wildly up front by scoring six unanswered goals to welcome their opponents to Bethpage Federal Credit Union Stadium in Brookville, which seemed to have recovered from the surprising late March snow the day before.
Up 6-1 after the first quarter, the home side had no intentions of stopping the attack. The Pioneers stood for another six-goal commotion with two man-up tallies from junior midfielder Anthony Berardis.
The guests attempted to come back, but never really came close. Despite 33 shots for the Griffins, only six found the cage behind junior goalkeeper Adam Winne, who stood for 11 consecutive saves.
Senior attackman Chris Caiazza scored a career-high seven points, with six tallies and one feed, while Berardis tied his career-best with four points as well. As the final whistle blew, the scoreboard shone 18 bright for the hosts and only six for the guests.
Head LIU Post men’s lacrosse coach John Jez and his squad are going on the road next as they face Post University on Wednesday, March 25 in a non-Conference tilt. Faceoff is scheduled for 3 p.m.
This article was originally published in the Pioneer, the award-winning student newspaper of LIU Post, www.liupostpioneer.com, and is republished here by Blank Slate Media with the permission of the Pioneer.
