Box Score KINGS POINT, N.Y. – The Coast Guard men's lacrosse team played in their first ever NCAA game falling to arch rival Merchant Marine 19-9 in a nonconference affair.
The Bears were led by Junior Robert McKenna who had three goals. Junior Justin Huemme and freshman Matt Huemme each had a goal and an assist. Senior Nick Chicoine won 15-29 faceoffs he took.
The Mariners were paced by a game high seven goals and two assists by senior Geoff Harty. Freshman Pat Cole had three goals and two assists in his first collegiate lacrosse game while junior Rob Tirrito and senior Pat Cole added two goals of their own.
Coast Guard and Merchant Marine swapped early goals as sophomore Chris Whitenack started the scoring for the Mariners followed by a goal by Matt Huemme for the Bears.
This would be the last time the game was tied as Merchant Marine would score ten straight goals through the end of the first quarter and into the second quarter making the score 11-2. Harty had four goals during this spurt while Coll had two.
McKenna and senior Pat Dreiss would put the Bears back on the scoreboard as they scored two of the final three goals of the period making the half time score 12-3.
Coast Guard would cut into the lead at the start of the second half as goals by sophomore Quinn Hathcock and Justin Huemme made the score 12-5 with 12:30 left in the third quarter.
Merchant Marine would once again go on another run as they scored four consecutive goals to bring the lead to 11 at 16-5.
The Bears would outscore the Mariners the rest of the way 4-3 but it was not enough as the Mariners would win the game by a final score of 19-9.
Sophomore Ryan Carpenter got the start in goal for Coast Guard and made six saves on 22 shots faced. He was relieved by freshman Kurt Caminske in the final quarter who faced seven shots and made four saves. Carpenter and the team's record is now 0-1 on the season.
Senior Alex Peyreigne made seven saves on 14 shots faced. He was relieved by freshman JC Phillips who made one save on three shots. Peyreigne's raised his record along with the team's record to 1-0 on the year.
The Bears return to action on Sunday, March 8th when they travel south to play Virginia Wesleyan in a nonconference game. First faceoff is at 1:00 pm.
