SBU Sports: Men’s lacrosse takes down Manhattan 12-7

Stony Brook men’s lacrosse defeated Manhattan, 12-7, on March 1 in Riverdale to pick up its second straight win. Freshman Brendan Marino scored four goals and Justin Bonacci tallied a career-high seven points (three goals, four assists) in the road victory over the Jaspers.

Stony Brook started fast on the strength of its freshmen class. Caleb Yeung broke the ice and Marino added a pair to put the Seawolves ahead 3-0. Bonacci assisted on all three of Stony Brook’s goals to begin the afternoon.

After a pair of tallies from Manhattan in response, Richie DeChiaro and Marino found the back of the net to push the lead back to three goals.

After completing a first-half hat trick, Marino netted a fourth goal, but it would be Stony Brook’s lone tally of the second quarter.

The Jaspers scored twice to make it a one-goal game heading into the half and found the equalizing goal to open the scoring in the second half.

With the score level at 6-all, Stony Brook’s defense locked Manhattan down. MacLachlan and his defensive unit shut out the Jaspers in the third and Stony Brook scored thrice in the frame to go ahead 9-6.

Bonacci added two goals to start the fourth, completing his own hat trick and capping a stretch of five straight Seawolf scores.

Manhattan managed just one goal in the second half and Stony Brook pulled away to close out the 12-7 road victory in the Bronx.

“Proud of the guys on earning a tough, gritty win on the road. I thought we played great team lacrosse. I’m excited to keep seeing these guys work hard and improve,” head coach Anthony Gilardi said postgame.

Up next, the team returns to Long Island to host Binghamton on March 8. The Seawolves and their former conference counterparts do battle at noon from LaValle Stadium, with the contest streaming live on FloCollege.