AMCATS Fall to Mariners in Men’s Lacrosse, 14-8

NEW LONDON, Conn. – The Mitchell College men's lacrosse team picked up its first win of the 2014 season on Saturday afternoon by a 14-8 final over Anna Maria College in non-conference action at New London High School.

Senior Demetre Lyras (Rocky Point, N.Y./Rock Point) and junior Jordan Cook (Groton, Conn./Fitch) each netted hat tricks to lead the Mariners (1-1 overall). Cook also had a pair of assists while Lyras added one helper, and sophomore Dan DiGioia (Glen Ridge, N.J./Glen Ridge) finished with a pair of goals and three assists.

Rodrigo Henriques (Saugus, Mass./Saugus) tallied a game-high five goals to lead Anna Maria (0-2 overall). Lucas Stralka (East Greenwich, R.I./East Greenwich) contributed a pair of goals and three assists while Jamison Crowley (Southington, Conn./Southington) scored once and chipped in with an assist.

The Mariners never trailed in the contest thanks to consecutive goals by senior David Klapp (Greenfield, N.Y./Saratoga Springs) in the game's first seven minutes. Stralka got Anna Maria on the scoreboard with 6:29 to go in the opening quarter to make it 2-1, but Mitchell closed out the period with goals from DiGioia, Cook and Lyras to lead 5-1 heading into the second.

The AMCATS rallied back to tie the game at 5-5 behind four straight goals to open the second quarter. The first three came from Henriques, who scored two man-up goals during the stretch, and Crowley potted the final score that also came with a man advantage. After committing five penalties in the stanza to let Anna Maria back in the game, the Mariners ended the half strong and got goals from sophomore Aaron Sladyk (South Windsor, Conn./South Windsor) and Cook in the final 1:09 to lead 7-5 at the break.

Mitchell opened the second half with a man-up goal by Lyras and added three more tallies to go up 11-5. Henriques finally broke the string with his fourth goal of the day with 1:08 go to in the third, but the Mariners kept up the pressure and scored the first three goals of the fourth quarter to take their largest lead of the day at 14-6. Mitchell's final goal came on a home run pass from goalie JD LeMay (Lagrangeville, N.Y./John Jay) to the offensive end, and Sladyk quickly fed A.J. Fialkowski (San Diego, Calif./Otay Ranch) for the score.

Henriques and Stralka each added a man-down goal in the final 2:31 for the AMCATS. Anna Maria outshot Mitchell 48-31 for the contest, but LeMay turned away 13 shots to earn his first collegiate win. Franco Francioso (Walpole, Mass./Walpole) finished with six saves for the AMCATS.

The win was also the first for Mitchell head coach John Keysor.  

Mitchell will next play at Becker College on Tuesday, March 4 at 4 p.m. Anna Maria returns to action at Nichols College on Wednesday, March 5 at 3:30 p.m.

Release courtesy of Mitchell Sports Information Department