PLEASANTVILLE, N.Y. – In a thrilling matchup between a pair of nationally-ranked teams, the No. 18-ranked Pace University men's lacrosse team dropped a late 14-13 decision to No. 17 Dowling College Saturday afternoon at Pace Stadium. The Setters' record evens out at 1-1 with the loss, while Dowling improves to 2-0 on the year.
The Setters trailed, 6-3, heading into the third quarter. Senior
Matthew Cossidente (Port Jefferson Station, NY/Comsewogue) opened the second half with a goal just 85 seconds in to get Pace within two. Brian White responded for Dowling four minutes later to make it a three-goal game once again, but junior
Brandon Donnellan (Chester, NY/Warwick Valley) and grad student
Kevin Cox (Brightwater, NY/Bay Shore / Manhattan College) notched back-to-back goals to get the Setters within one. Mitch Kinney scored at the 5:33 mark for Dowling, but sophomore
Liam Brennan (Huntington Station, NY/Walt Whitman) and Cox scored the next two goals, tying the game at 8-8. Dowling's Eddie Hillkewicz netted one with just 16 seconds left in the quarter to send the game to the fourth with a 9-8 score in favor of the Golden Lions.
Between periods, White was flagged for an illegal crosse, resulting in a three-minute extra-man opportunity for the Setters. They capitalized quickly when sophomore
Trevor Chernoff (Coquitlam, BC/Gleneagle Secondary) scored 45 seconds in to tie the game. Later on, sophomore
Ryan O'Hagan (Watervliet, NY/Christian Brothers Academy) followed up his own shot that went off the crossbar and scored to give the Setters their first lead since early in the first quarter.
Dowling quickly responded with two goals in the next 90 seconds to take an 11-10 lead with 9:32 to play. Freshman
Bradley Paterson (Caldwell, NJ/Depaul Catholic) scored his first of the season for the Setters at 8:42 to tie the game, and then O'Hagan scored his second of the quarter to once again give Pace the lead. A minute later, Dowling's Josh Shaw scored to tie the game once again at 12-12.
Pace freshman
Matt Golden (Princeton, NJ/South Brunswick) was called for a slashing penalty at 5:15 to give the Golden Lions an extra-man opportunity. They quickly took advantage when Shaw scored again to take a 13-12 advantage. Seconds later, Dowling's Andrew McMenamy took a pushing penalty to give the Setters another man-up chance. Brennan found space and fired off a great shot, but Dowling goalkeeper Frank Sommers made a tough save to keep the Golden Lions on top. McMenamy then took another penalty on a cross-check, and this time Brennan capitalized with a man-up goal at 3:41 to tie the game.
After the Setters won the ensuing face-off, senior
Tyler Meigel (Centereach, NY/Centereach) nearly gave the Setters the lead, but Sommers made another difficult save to keep it even. On the way back down the field, Dowling's Hillkewicz managed to fire one into the Setters' net to take a 14-13 lead with 2:02 to play. With just 15 seconds left, Cox got off a great shot opportunity that could have tied the game, but Sommers came up with one more impressive save for the Golden Lions to hold on for the one-goal win.
Sommers made 21 saves and improves to 2-0 on the season for Dowling. Sophomore goalkeeper
Robert Beshlian (Wantagh, NY/Wantagh) shouldered the loss to fall to 1-1 on the year, making 11 saves in the process.
Brennan had his second-straight stellar game for the Setters, tallying six points on three goals and three assists. He now has six goals and seven assists for 13 points through two games this season. Cox and O'Hagan each scored twice in the game. Cossidente scored his fourth of the year and added his first two assists. Senior
Matt Ruquet (Rocky Point, NY/Rocky Point / Manhattan College) won 19-of-28 face-offs (67.9 percent) and scooped up a game-high nine ground balls.
For Dowling, Hillkewicz scored four times and added an assist for a five-point game. White and Shaw each scored three goals and handed out an assist to register four points apiece. John Astrologo caused a game-leading four turnovers and added two ground balls.
The Setters had a significant lead in shots, outshooting the Golden Lions, 50-30, including a 34-25 edge in shots on goal. They also held a 38-26 advantage in ground balls and won 19-of-29 face-offs.
The Setters will get back to work on Wednesday, March 2, when they host Dominican College at Pace Stadium for their third-straight home game to open the season. The opening face-off is scheduled for 3 p.m.
For all information regarding Pace University men's lacrosse, log on to
www.PaceUAthletics.com, follow Pace Athletics on Facebook (
T-Bone, Official Mascot of Pace University Athletics), and follow the men's lacrosse team on Twitter (
@PaceLacrosse) and on Instagram (
@PaceUnivLax).
