Farmingdale State 16, Alvernia 2
READING, Pa. | After host Alvernia University tied the game at 2-2 more than four minutes into the second quarter Saturday afternoon at Schlager Memorial Field, the visiting Farmingdale State College men's lacrosse team scored 14 unanswered goals on the day, holding the host Golden Wolves (4-4) scoreless for the final 40:42 and moving its record to 8-1 and extending its winning streak to eight-consecutive outings with a 16-2 victory.
The winning streak for FSC is believed to be one shy of the program record of nine, which was set over the span of the abbreviated 2020 and 2021 seasons. Head coach Sean Chamberlain's side will attempt to equal that mark in its next outing on April 4, when it travels to La Plume, Pa., for its final non-conference game of the campaign with a 3 p.m. faceoff at Keystone College.
Senior attacker Jake Wandle (Rocky Point, N.Y.) set a career-high with eight points (4g, 4a) for the Rams, and his 179 career points (110g, 69a) now sit at No. 2 on the program's all-time list -- just seven behind the record held by Joe Meola (2004-08; 98-88--186). Junior attacker Thomas Stock (Selden, N.Y.) added a career-high-tying five goals and an assist on the afternoon, while senior Rob Varello (Smithtown, N.Y.) registered two goals and three assists. Junior middie Kyle Kolano (Babylon, N.Y.) collected a hat trick and one assist, and senior midfielder Jack Gilbride (Westhampton Beach, N.Y.) contributed two goals and an assist. On the defensive end, sophomore Christian Lembo (Farmingdale, N.Y.) picked up six loose balls and caused a game-high five turnovers, with senior Nick Bucholz (Holbrook, N.Y.) adding four takeaways in front of sophomore goalkeeper Dan Erler (Smithtown, N.Y.), who made eight saves in his 52:56 of action.
Farmingdale State held a 2-0 lead after one period of action, with Stock lifting the lid on the scoring 2:20 into play and Wandle adding his 19th marker of the season with 76 seconds to go.
After Alvernia leveled the contest at the 10:42 mark of the second frame, Wandle put the visitors ahead for good 58 seconds later, with Kolano bagging two goals and Varello one before the horn to send FSC into halftime up by a 6-2 advantage.
The third period brought more of the same for the Rams, with Stock's pair of tallies in the stanza sandwiching markers by Gilbride and Wandle. Three man-up tallies by three separate players in the fourth period helped to close things out for Farmingdale State.