ROCHESTER, N.Y. – Nazareth's men's lacrosse team defeated Sage 28-4 in an Empire 8 Conference contest on Saturday afternoon. Junior Kyle Rosenberger amassed six goals and added an assist, while graduate student Quinn McKercher had a pair of goals and six assists to lead the Golden Flyers. In the second half, sophomore Anthony Menickelli tallied his first goals of the season, and freshman Owen Weterrings scored his first-career goal.
Nazareth closes the regular season with a 12-5 overall record, including 8-1 in conference games. The Gators finish the season 5-12 overall and 2-7 in the Empire 8. As the second seed in the Empire 8, the Golden Flyers earn a bye and will host next Thursday's semifinals.
Nazareth scored eight times in the opening quarter to take command. Junior Louis Cogliandro opened the scoring with a man-up goal 2:57 into the stanza. Classmate William O'Neill set up the scoring opportunity after collecting a loose ball and finding Cogliandro in the center of the field.
Following a Sage goal at the 10:33 mark, the Golden Flyers rattled off the next seven goals in a span of 8:44. Junior Matthew Farrington started the run when he ran from behind the net and fed Rosenberger on the far side of the crease. Farrington scored the next goal after catching a pass on the left side of the crease, improving his angle, then burying a shot into the top-left corner to put Nazareth up 3-1.
With 5:41 to play in the quarter, O'Neill converted the Golden Flyers' second man-up opportunity after catching Rosenberger's centering pass from the right wing. About two minutes later, Rosenberger scored the eventual game-winning goal when he stepped into his shot and found the left side of the net. Next, senior Andy Hamel tallied his 13th goal of the season when he stepped into his long shot. In the last two minutes, Farrington scored his second of the game, and McKercher had his first.
The Golden Flyers scored again just 41 seconds into the second when senior Owen Riley found Cogliandro running across the field. Following the Gators' second goal, Nazareth tallied seven consecutive goals again in the final 8:25 of the half. Cogliandro started the run with an unassisted goal after driving from the top of the restraining area and scoring on a low shot. Rosenberger had a pair of goals during the run, while McKercher, O'Neill and freshman Alex Garrow had one goal apiece. For Garrow, it was his seventh goal of the season.
Similar to the second quarter, Nazareth scored quickly in the third when junior William Meagher tallied his first goal of the game and 12th of the season. Hamel scored the next goal, his second of the game, after catching a pass from McKercher. McKercher also assisted on Menickelli's first goal of the game when he found Menickelli open in the middle of the field. Menickelli fired a low shot inside the post for the goal. Cogliandro tallied the next goal, followed by a pair of goals by Rosenberger. Menickelli scored his second with 36 seconds left in the quarter.
Freshman Braden Gioseffi recorded his first goal of the game roughly three minutes into the fourth. Gioseffi scored again midway through the quarter for his fourth goal of the season. Between Gioseffi's goals, senior Brendan Regan scored his fifth of the season, and freshman George Monahan tallied his third on the year. Weterrings recorded his first goal after clearing the ball and making his way through the Sage defense. Sophomore Hayden Lucas closed Nazareth's scoring with an unassisted goal for his sixth of the season.
The Golden Flyers' defense held Sage scoreless for nearly 29 minutes, which stretched from the second quarter through most of the fourth. Freshmen Lucas Bertram and Nicholas Hinck finished with two caused turnovers apiece and combined to collect seven ground balls over the course of the game.
Junior McLean Ralston earned the victory after starting the game; he finished with two saves and three goals against. Sophomore Zac Isaac had four saves and one goal against in the second half. Nazareth held the Gators' Anthony Marron, who leads the Empire 8 in goals with 58, to only two scores.
After amassing six goals on Saturday, Rosenberger finishes the regular season with 32. Farrington's two goals also leaves him with 32 goals for the campaign. McKercher closes the regular season leading the Golden Flyers with 42 goals and 29 assists.
Nazareth's semifinal on May 1st, will be against the winner of the third and sixth seeds, who play Tuesday, April 29th. Details for the Empire 8 Tournament can be found here.
