QU Men's Lacrosse Holds Off NJIT For 11-8 Road Win

Saturday, March 4

Ranger Stadium (Drew University) - Madison, NJ

12:00 PM

Quinnipiac University

1-2

New Jersey Institute of Technology

0-5

Quinnipiac

NJIT

3/4/2017 2:18:00 PM | Men's Lacrosse

Box Score

By: QU Sports Information

MADISON, N.J. – Junior attack Brian Feldman (Canandaigua, N.Y.) had three goals and two assists and junior midfielder Ryan Corcoran (Stratford, Conn. - pictured) had his first career hat trick as the Quinnipiac men's lacrosse team held off a second-half NJIT rally for an 11-8 win on Saturday afternoon at Drew University's Ranger Stadium.

With the win, the Bobcats improve to 1-2 on the young season, while NJIT sees its record slip to 0-5. Freshman goalie Joe Zukauskas (Southington, Conn.) made his first start and had six saves, four of which came on tying shot attempts from NJIT in the second half after the Highlanders cut a five-goal lead down to one. Junior Will Vitelli (Milford, Conn.) was 19-for-22 on faceoffs to give Quinnipiac big advantage in possession.

The Bobcats got off to a quick 6-1 lead at the end of the first quarter, as Vitelli was 8-8 on faceoffs in the opening frame. Feldman had two goals around a goal from senior midfielder Kevin Diehl (Towson, Md.) to make it 3-1 at the 5:40 mark, while junior midfielder Anthony Carchietta (Syosset, N.Y.) stretched it to 4-1 when his shot hit off the NJIT goalie and trickled over the line. Junior midfielder Ryan Lawson (Niskayuna, N.Y.) made it 5-1 and Corcoran closed out the quarter with a goal with 13 seconds left to make the score 6-1.

NJIT twice crept within three goals in the second quarter, closing to within 6-3 after back-to-back tallies, before Corcoran answered with his second. After the Highlanders closed to within 7-4, the Bobcats scored the final goal of the half off a quick turnover as Feldman fed senior attack Drew D'Antonio (Norwalk, Conn.) alone in front to make the score 8-4 at the break.

The Bobcats, though, were held without a goal in the third quarter as NJIT scored three straight times to close within a single goal with 7:00 left in the third. Zukauskas had a pair of key saves in the third and two more in the fourth to prevent the Highlanders from pulling even. Corcoran finally ended the Bobcat drought with an extra-man goal on a Feldman feed with 10:12 left to make the score 9-7, but NJIT answered with a transition goal from Kevin Faltiesek with 7:19 left to close to within 9-8.

NJIT had a chance to tie late, taking a timeout with just over 2:30 remaining, but junior long-stick midfielder Adam Bellamy (Saint Catherine, Ontario) forced a key turnover that nearly resulted in a 100-yard goal from junior defender Riley Palmer (Oshawa, Ontario) into an empty net. The Bobcats maintained possession, though, and sealed the game as sophomore midfielder Foster Cuomo (Oakville, Ont.) scored into an empty net with 1:03 left. Feldman then had a steal on an NJIT clear attempt and converted for his third straight hat trick to start the season to close out the scoring.

Feldman had two assists to go along with his three goals for a game-high five points. Corcoran had his first career hat trick with three goals and added an assist, while Diehl and D'Antonio each had a goal and an assist. Bellamy had seven ground balls and three caused turnovers to lead the defense, while Vitelli was 5-for-5 on faceoffs in the fourth quarter to help the Bobcats hold on for the win.

Quinnipiac will be back in action when it travels to Princeton on Tuesday night for a 7 p.m. contest. It will then return home for three straight home games at Yale's Reese Stadium, beginning with a Saturday night contest against Hartford at 7 p.m.