Farmingdale State 13, Western Connecticut State 12
DAVENPORT, Fla. | A run of three fourth-quarter goals across a 1:59 span, including the go-ahead tally from senior
Andrew Giovinco (Syosset, N.Y.), pushed the Farmingdale State College men's lacrosse team to its fifth-straight victory as it topped Western Connecticut State University, 13-12, on Wednesday.
The Rams (5-2), who received a vote in this week's USILA Division III Poll for the first time in the program's NCAA era, trailed the Wolves (3-6) by an 11-10 count with 10:15 remaining. From there, senior attacker
Thomas Stock (Selden, N.Y.) tied the contest off a feed from junior
Kamryn Gill (Riverhead, N.Y.) at 7:40 mark, before Giovinco put FSC ahead for good when he netted a pass from fellow senior
Gerardo Maldonado (West Hempstead, N.Y.) with 6:06 to play. Giovinco's game-high fifth goal of the afternoon came 25 seconds later, before Western Connecticut pulled to within a 13-12 count with 5:23 on the clock. Rams senior goalkeeper
Dan Erler (Smithtown, N.Y.) made saves with 3:39 and 1:47 left in one-shot possessions for the Wolves, before WCSU shot wide at the final horn to round out the Farmingdale State triumph.
FSC scored the first six goals of the game, with Giovinco finishing off a hat trick with 3:50 remaining in the first period, before Western Connecticut ripped off seven-consecutive goals to hold a 7-6 lead at halftime. The teams each traded two-goal spurts to start the third quarter, with FSC seniors
Thomas Mai (Islip, N.Y.) and Stock scoring at 11:29 and 9:20, respectively. Classmate and midfielder
Tyler Kollar (Bellport, N.Y.) sent the teams into the final quarter tied at 9-all when he fired home a pass from Mai with 16 seconds to go. The Wolves followed a score by Gill with two of their own to regain the lead, at 11-10, with 10:15 left, which set the stage for the Rams' game-deciding three-goal run.
Mai finished the game with two goals and as many assists, while Stock's fourth-period tally to start the run completed a hat trick. Gill and Maldonado each posted one goal and two assists, while Giovinco's brother, sophomore
Adam Giovinco (Syosset, N.Y.), dished out two helpers. Erler made a career-high 16 saves in net, including seven in the fourth period.
Farmingdale State is next in action at home on Saturday (March 22), when it plays host to Oswego State at noon.
