Farmingdale State - 9, FDU-Florham - 7
Madison, N.J. - The Farmingdale State men's lacrosse team led 8-6 entering the fourth and held FDU-Florham to only one goal in the quarter en route to the 9-7 non-conference road victory on Tuesday. The Rams improved to 5-1 on the season, while the Devils dropped to 1-5.
Trailing 3-2 with 8:27 remaining in the second quarter, Farmingdale State used a goal from junior midfielder James Reiser (Melville, N.Y.) off Brad Rapone's (Roslyn, N.Y.) pass to even the game at 3-3.
The Rams closed the half with man-up goals from both sophomore attack Michael Cegielski (Somers, N.Y.) and junior midfielder Stephen White (Copiague, N.Y.) to extend the lead to 5-3 heading into halftime.
Only 2:34 after the break, Farmingdale State took a three-goal advantage on a score from sophomore midfielder Daniel Desimone (Plainview, N.Y.). FSC followed with an unassisted goal by Rapone open up a 7-3 lead with 7:09 left to play in the third.
After three straight FDU-Florham goals cut the deficit to 7-6, Cegielski brought the Rams advantage to back two with the final score in the third quarter.
With 9:07 remaining in the fourth quarter, junior attack Tyler Rifice* (Bohemia, N.Y.) converted the feed from Cegielski to put the Rams on top, 9-6. FDU-Florham's Daniel Minnich (Laurys Station, Penn.) scored a late goal as the FSC earned the 9-7 victory.
Rifice registered a team-high four points on two goals and two assists to go along with three ground balls and two caused turnovers. Cegielski tallied three points on two goals and an assist, while senior midfielder Ryan Corbett* (Plainview, N.Y.) picked up a game-high six ground balls.
The Devils were led by sophomore midfielder David Stewart (Narbeth, Penn.) who scored four goals and had one assist.
The FSC men's lacrosse team next will travel to Mount Saint Mary for their first Skyline Conference game of the season on Friday, April 1st at 7:00 p.m.
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