Dallas, Pa. – The FDU-Florham men's lacrosse team was defeated 17-6 by the Misericordia University Cougars in a Freedom Conference Tournament semifinal match on Wednesday night in Dallas, Pa.
Senior Frank Salustri (Yonkers, N.Y.) led the Devils (8-7, 4-2 Freedom) with a team-high two goals. Alongside Salustri, FDU-Florham also saw contributions from five other Devils on the offensive end.
It was a difficult road affair for the Devils as they were outshot 54-32 in the contest and saw the Cougars (10-6, 4-2 Freedom) jump out to an early 6-0 lead after one quarter of play. After surrendering an early goal in the second quarter, Daniel Minnich (Laurys Station, Pa.) found the ball and dished it over to Salustri, who then fired it to the back of the net for the first score for the Devils.
In the closing minutes of the first half, Jake Higgins (Bridgewater, N.J.) found a streaking Minnich for the score to cut the deficit to five. The Cougars countered on the very next possession with a goal from Pat Kellish off of the assist from Andrew Reynolds. However, following a late turnover by the Cougars, Dan Decker (East Setauket, N.Y.) scooped up the ground ball and the Devils worked their way down the field. The ball found its way into the stick of Dan Sagl (West Islip, N.Y.), who rifled a shot into the net.
With an 8-3 lead entering the third quarter of play, the Cougars added two quick goals off of the shots from Brandon Winslow and Reynolds. As both teams struggled to maintain possession for several minutes, the Devils halted a clear by Misericordia and the Cougars turned the ball over. With the ball in the possession of the FDU-Florham, Higgins got the ball and scored to make it a 10-4 game.
The Cougars added three more goals before the Devils were able to score again. With 11 minutes left to play in the game, senior Frank Reda (Hauppauge, N.Y.) received the ball from Sagl and netted the shot.
The Devils were outscored in three of the four quarters of play in the contest and struggled to stop an offensive frenzy from the Cougars.