Farmingdale State - 8, Scranton - 6

Farmingdale, N.Y. - In their first game of the 2015 season, the Farmingdale State men's lacrosse team earned an 8-6 home victory over Scranton this afternoon.

The Rams (1-0) struck first only 1:54 into the contest as senior attack Philip Schaefer* (Holbrook, N.Y.) scored off the pass from Derrick Sherrod (Huntington, N.Y.). The Rams extended their advantage to 2-0 with 9:35 remaining in the first on an unassisted score by junior attack Conor Pittard (Setauket, N.Y.)

Only 10 seconds later, junior defender Keith Vita (Melville, N.Y.) cut the Scranton (0-1) deficit in half with an unassisted goal. The Royals would add a pair of goals late in the first period to take a 3-2 lead after one.

With only four seconds remaining before halftime, Schaefer scored to tie the game at 3-3 heading into the break.

After Scranton took a 4-3 lead, senior midfielder Donovan Devaney (East Northport, N.Y.) tied the game at 4-4 with 9:08 left on the clock in the third.

Tied 5-5 entering the fourth, Scranton's Jake Haimson (Montville, N.J.) converted a man-up score to give the Royals a one goal edge. Junior midfielder Damian Romanelli (Lindenhurst, N.Y.) scored off the feed from Tom Rotanz (Wading River, N.Y.) to again even the score at 6-6.

Farmingdale State took a 7-6 lead with 9:12 left to play on Schaefer's fourth goal of the game. Romanelli would add a late score as the Rams earned an 8-6 season opening victory.

Schaefer finished with a game-high four goals and picked up four ground balls, while Romanelli tallied two scores. Devaney totaled one goal and an assist, while defenders Dylan Bates (Wading River, N.Y.) and Matthew Brendel (Hicksville, N.Y.) each caused a game-high three turnovers.

The Royals were led by Haimson's three goals and senior defender Ryan Millard's (Long Valley, N.J.) game-high nine ground balls. Senior midfielder Matt Finor (Churchville, Penn.) was 14-for-17 on faceoffs in the loss.

The Rams next will travel to Morrisville State for a non-conference game on Wednesday, February 25th at 4:00 p.m.

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