Farmingdale State - 18, De Sales - 15
FARMINGDALE, N.Y. | Junior midfielder
Joey Forchelli (Seaford, N.Y.) and freshman attack
Ethan Vargas (Bay Shore, N.Y.) scored six goals apiece to lead the Farmingdale State men's lacrosse team to an 18-15 season-opening victory over DeSales University on Saturday afternoon.
The Rams (1-0) opened the 2026 campaign with a Forchelli score at the 9:52 mark of the first quarter before Vargas followed with a goal off an assist from senior midfielder Tommy Mai (Islip, N.Y.) to make it 2-0. Senior midfielder Connor Murtha (Moriches, N.Y.) added an unassisted tally to give FSC an early 3-0 advantage.
After DeSales (0-2) responded with a goal, Forchelli scored off a Vargas assist to make it 4-1. Vargas later converted a feed from senior attack Casey Fortunato (Northport, N.Y.) to send the Rams into the second quarter ahead, 5-2.
In the second, senior midfielder Amir Slaughter (North Babylon, N.Y.) scored off a Mai assist before Fortunato recorded his first goal of the season with 4:21 on the clock. Mai later finished a pass from Fortunato, and Forchelli buried his third goal of the afternoon with one second remaining in the half to give Farmingdale State a 9-6 lead at the break.
DeSales cut the deficit to 9-7 early in the third quarter, but sophomore midfielder Nicholas Mistler (Patchogue, N.Y.) answered off an assist from junior attack Adam Giovinco (Syosset, N.Y.). Vargas added two more goals in the quarter, while Forchelli netted his fourth and fifth scores to give the Rams a 14-11 lead heading into the final quarter.
The Bulldogs cut their deficit to just two with an early fourth quarter score, but Vargas responded with two more goals and Mai added his second of the game man-up to go in front by five. Forchelli capped his six-goal outing off a Giovinco assist at 6:38 to extend the advantage to 18-12.
DeSales scored the final three goals of the game as Farmingdale State went on for the 18-15 non-conference victory.
Vargas tallied a game-high eight points on six goals and two assists, while Forchelli scored six goals on just nine shots. Mai finished with two goals and three assists and Fortunato filled the stat sheet with a goal, three assists, three ground balls and two caused turnovers. Giovinco contributed three assists, while Murtha, Mistler and Slaughter each added a goal in the victory.
Junior goalkeeper Connor Dobson (Islip, N.Y.) made 13 saves in net to earn the win. Freshman faceoff specialist Fabrice Cormier (Copiague, N.Y.) won 18-of-29 draws and picked up a game-high 10 ground balls.
Farmingdale State returns to action on Wednesday, February 18th, when it hosts Division II opponent University of Bridgeport at 4:00 p.m.
