#2 Merchant Marine - 21, #3 Farmingdale State - 8
Kings Point, N.Y. - #3 Farmingdale State fell to #2 Merchant Marine, 21-8, in the Skyline Conference Semifinals on Wednesday night. The Mariners outscored the Rams, 14-2, in the second half en route to the victory. USMMA advanced to the Skyline Finals, while FSC was eliminated from the playoffs.
FSC (11-6) opened the scoring just 11 seconds into the game as junior attack Jake Satterley (West Babylon, N.Y.) tallied an unassisted goal. Just a minute later, Rams' senior midfielder James Ragland (Seaford, N.Y.) netted a goal to give Farmingdale State an early 2-0 edge.
The Rams led 4-2 with 5:49 remaining in the first quarter and used an unassisted score from junior midfielder Dylan Fitzgerald (Farmingdale, N.Y.) to go up by three.
USMMA (11-4) trailed 5-3 after one quarter and opened the second with a goal from junior attack Mike Morsberger (Catonsville, Md.) to close within just one.
After FSC freshman midfielder Peter Engelken (Holtsville, N.Y.) notched a goal to regain a two-goal lead, the Mariners closed the half with three straight goals, including two from senior attack Jack Renard (San Clemente, Calif.), to take a 7-6 advantage.
Farmingdale State senior goalkeeper Dan Wood (East Meadow, N.Y.) made 10 saves in the first half.
In the third, Merchant Marine tallied the first two scores of the half to take a 9-6 lead before Rams' junior attack AJ Sandorfi (Lynbrook, N.Y.) produced an unassisted goal to cut their deficit to two.
Over the final 5:39 of the third quarter, USMMA scored six unanswered goals to take a commanding 15-7 advantage.
The Mariners would outscore the Rams, 6-1, in the final quarter as they went on for the 21-8 victory.
Engelken registered three of FSC's eight goals to go along with one caused turnover and a ground ball. Sandorfi tallied a pair of goals, while Satterley, Ragland and Fitzgerald had one goal apiece. Junior midfielder John McMahon (West Babylon, N.Y.) won 12 faceoffs and picked up five ground balls and sophomore defender Brodie Culkin (West Islip, N.Y.) had one caused turnover and five ground balls. Sophomore defender Jack Livingston (Farmingdale, N.Y.) recorded a team-high two caused turnovers in defeat.
For Merchant Marine, Renard produced five goals and three assists for a game-high eight points.
USMMA has advanced to the Skyline Conference Finals and will travel to top-seeded Maritime on Saturday, May 4th.
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