Marist men’s lacrosse suffered a heart-breaking defeat after leading 10-8 in the fourth quarter, as a late run pushed Bellarmine over the top 11-10.
Preseason All-ASUN first-team selection in Knights goalie JC Higginbotham stood on his head with 19 saves to give the Knights their second straight win. Senior attackman Christian Della Rocco’s four first-half goals provided enough for Bellarmine (3-3).
A five-point day for freshman attackman Collin Patrick (3G, 2A) sparked the second-half comeback for Marist (3-2), but a quiet day from the Red Foxes’ top goal-scorers in senior attackman Joshua Balcercel (1G, 1A) and freshman midfielder Sean Mullan (0 points) left Marist with a tough task to score against a top-ranked defense.
Both teams came into the game with some momentum; Bellarmine had previously bounced back with a mid-week beatdown of Hampton after losing two straight, while the Red Foxes beat Hofstra on the road one week ago.
The Knights jumped out to a 2-0 lead with goals by Della Rocco, with the second score coming on a nifty behind-the-back finish.
Freshman midfielder Christian Colantonio got Marist on the board with an extra-man snipe from the top of the box. On the next possession, junior attackman Jake Deacy finished on the inside to tie the game at two.
The Red Foxes struggled in the clearing game, and Bellarmine scored another goal in transition as senior midfielder Denton Macdonald finished on the crease. The Knights then caught Marist ball-watching and sophomore attackman John Allie cut down the middle and extended the lead to two.
Marist opened the second quarter with a goal from sophomore attackman Vinny Butrico. Della Rocco netted a hat trick with another crafty finish, then scored his fourth to push the Knights’ lead to three. The Red Foxes’ nine turnovers hindered them as they tried to keep pace with Bellarmine’s efficient offense.
Colantonio ended a 3-0 Bellarmine run with his second goal with 5:03 left in the second quarter. Neither team scored for the rest of the half and Marist trailed 7-4 at the break. Junior goalie Noble Smith reached 10 saves in the half to keep Marist in range.
The Red Foxes worked an advantage on faceoffs, winning seven of 12, but were unable to get the clean-cut looks to score on Higginbotham.
Marist opened the scoring in the second half with back-to-back goals by freshman attackman Collin Patrick in a 10-second span. Marist cut the deficit to one, but sophomore faceoff specialist Grant Guthrie got one back for Bellarmine.
Senior attackman Joshua Balcercel scored his first of the day off a Bellarmine turnover to trim the Marist deficit to 8-7.
The Red Foxes wasted a man-up opportunity after a two-minute penalty call on Bellarmine. Freshman attackman Sean Mullan attempted a long-range shot, but Higginbotham stood tall.
Graduate student midfielder Stephen Bickel tied the game at eight with a gritty dodge into the mouth of the Knights’ defense. Marist forced eight Knights turnovers to get back into the game heading into the final frame.
Patrick completed his hat trick after a perfect feed from Deacy and Marist took their first lead of the game with 10:58 left in the fourth quarter. Bickel drained a left-handed jump shot to extend the lead to two (10-8) and swing the momentum away from Bellarmine.
Junior midfielder Justin Westcoat scored Bellarmine’s first goal in over a quarter of game time to cut the deficit to one. Graduate midfielder Benny O’Rourk tied the game at 10 with 6:16 remaining.
Bellarmine then regained the lead on Alie’s second goal, completing the erasure of their third-quarter struggles with three straight scores.
Down a goal, Marist retained possession with 90 seconds to go, but squandered the opportunity by committing their 17th turnover. The Red Fox defense forced a turnover with 20 seconds left and Patrick drew a penalty with nine seconds remaining in the game.
Mullan had the final look, but Higginbotham shut the door to secure the win for Bellarmine. Higginbotham passed Knights legend Dillon Ward in all-time saves with 19 on the day.
The Red Foxes never lost faith during the game and fought back to take their first lead in the fourth quarter. Some timely goals from Bellarmine proved enough to sneak away with a win.
Marist now moves onward to their MAAC conference schedule, first facing Wagner College on Saturday, Mar. 9. Opening faceoff at Hameline Field is set for 6 p.m.
Edited by Luke Sassa
Graphic by Gavin Hard; Photo from Jaylen Rizzo
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