2024 Skyline Conference Men's Lacrosse Championship – Final
(3) Farmingdale State - 12, (1) Maritime - 11

---

THROGGS NECK, N.Y. | The third-seeded Farmingdale State College men's lacrosse team defeated host and No. 1 seed Maritime College, 12-11, in the Skyline Conference Championship Final on Friday evening to capture its first-ever title.

The Rams (16-3) have earned the Skyline's automatic qualification into the 2024 NCAA Division III Men's Lacrosse Championship, which gets underway next week. FSC will find out who it is playing via an online selection show at NCAA.com on Sunday night (May 5) at 9 p.m. Six first-round games at home sites will take place Wednesday, with the winners advancing to Saturday's round of 32 – which will be contested at eight sites across the country.

Senior goalkeeper Dan Erler (Smithtown, N.Y.) was named the Most Outstanding Player of the Championship, as he followed his 14-save effort in Tuesday's semifinals victory over the U.S. Merchant Marine Academy with 10 more stops on Friday to backstop Farmingdale State's triumph – including five in the third period.

After each team scored one goal in the opening quarter, FSC opened the second with four consecutive scores to take a 5-1 advantage. Sophomore Amir Slaughter (North Babylon, N.Y.) registered the first goal of the spurt just 42 seconds into the quarter, before junior midfielder Tyler Kollar (Bellport, N.Y.) produced back-to-back goals, including a man-up score. Junior midfielder Michael Cassano (Plainview, N.Y.) netted FSC's fifth goal 2:18 prior to the half to give FSC the four-goal edge. The host Privateers (11-7) answered with two goals in a span of 49 seconds to cut their deficit to 5-3 heading into the halftime break.

Each team recorded four goals in a high-scoring third quarter, as the Rams carried a 9-7 lead into the fourth. Senior face-off specialist Antonio Kaminskey (Lindenhurst, N.Y.) won the opening draw and scored just seven seconds in to put FSC in front, 6-3. After a score by Maritime, seniors Gerardo Maldonado (West Hempstead, N.Y.) and Rob Varello (Smithtown, N.Y.) registered goals to give Farmingdale State an 8-4 lead with 6:37 on the clock. Farmingdale State still led by four, 9-5, with four minutes remaining in the quarter, before a pair of late scores pulled Maritime to within a pair.

Following a man-up goal by the Privateers to cut their deficit to 9-8 just 2:33 into the final period, FSC senior midfielder Kyle Kolano (Babylon, N.Y.) produced his first tally of the game at the 9:28 mark to stake his side to a two-goal edge once more. Just 28 seconds later, Slaughter set up senior attack Thomas Stock's (Selden, N.Y.) third goal of the night, pushing the visitors ahead by an 11-8 count.

Goals at the 7:40 and 5:52 marks brought Maritime to within a one-goal margin at 11-10, before Erler made a big save at the 5:03 mark. After Farmingdale State successfully cleared into the offensive zone and called time out, Stock registered his fourth goal of the night to put his team ahead 12-10 with 3:55 on the clock. The hosts once again closed to within one at the 2:37 mark and won the ensuing face off, but freshman long-stick midfielder Sean Lawson (Mattituck, N.Y.) forced a Privateers turnover. The Rams called timeout once more before drawing a pair of Maritime penalties with 1:03 showing. Maritime gained possession with 21.6 seconds remaining but were unable to get off a shot as Farmingdale State earned its first-ever conference crown in the program's NCAA era.

Stock's four goals led all scorers, while Slaughter (g, 2a) and Kollar (2g, a) finished with three points apiece in the victorious effort. Freshman attackman Adam Giovinco (Syosset, N.Y.) passed out two assists and caused as many turnovers in the FSC riding game, with Kaminskey helping the Rams to establish possession with his 16-of-27 showing at the midfield "x" to go with 10 ground balls. Lawson and senior close defender Gino Luchetti (Farmingville, N.Y.) created four takeaways apiece in front of Erler, while freshman defender Joseph Bleck (Farmingdale, N.Y.) put in a strong effort in holding Privateers' leading scorer Parker Reilly to just one goal on the evening. 





(Photo credit to Alan J. Schaefer)