- Rams Season Ends in Semi's -
Union, N.J. - Sophomore John Marcelli scored the game-winner with less than two minutes remaining to lift the Kean University men's lacrosse team to a 13-11 win over Farmingdale State College in the Skyline Conference semifinals on Wednesday evening.
Marcelli finished with a game-high four goals in the win. For the Rams (6-9), senior goalkeeper Patrick Delvanthal made 16 saves.
Farmingdale State opened the game with the first two goals, as senior Tim Caden opened the scoring just 1:15 into the game and assisted on the second goal by Jason Opitz just over a minute later for the early 2-0 lead.
The Cougars answered with six straight goals spanning the first and second quarters, as sophomore Richard Cheifitz opened the run with back-to-back goals, before Marcelli gave Kean its largest lead at 6-2 with 11:11 remaining in the second period.
Farmingdale State closed the half scoring four of the last five goals to pull within 7-6 at the break following two goals by senior midfielder Shannon Robinson.
In the second half, Marcelli and Cheifitz extended the Kean lead to 9-6, however the Rams answered with four straight goals to take the 10-9 lead with 9:43 remaining in the game on the unassisted goal by Donovan Devaney.
The Cougars regained the lead following goals by senior Nick Angrisani and junior Ryan Buerkle, before Caden tied the game at 11-11 with 3:38 left. Marcelli netted the unassisted game-winner with 1:48 remaining, before adding the insurance tally with 22 seconds left to advance Kean to the Skyline Championship game.
Marcelli had four goals and one assist, while Cheifitz had three goals and one assist. Rookie Jonathan Foss won 15-of-25 faceoffs and picked up 11 groundballs.
Junior goalkeeper Lane Zierten played the final quarter, making four saves to earn the victory.
For the Rams, Caden finished with two goals, one assist and five groundballs, while Devaney added two goals and four groundballs.
With the win, the second-seeded Cougars (12-5) will face top-seeded Montclair State University on Saturday afternoon at 1 p.m. at Sprague Field on the campus of Montclair State. The Cougars will face the host Red Hawks for the Skyline Championship for the fourth time in the last five years.
(Story by Kean Sports Information Dept.)
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