ROCHESTER, N.Y. — The SUNY Brockport men's lacrosse team (3-13, 3-5 Empire 8) traveled to NLPA Field on Wednesday afternoon to take on No. 21 Nazareth University (10-6, 8-0 Empire 8). Despite a strong second-period response and another high-volume performance in the cage, the Golden Eagles were unable to withstand a dominant third-quarter push, falling to the Golden Flyers 23-7.
How It Happened
Nazareth established a commanding presence early, blanking the Golden Eagles in the first period with six unanswered goals to take a 6-0 lead. However, Brockport found its rhythm in the second quarter, outscoring the nationally-ranked Golden Flyers 4-3.
The second-period spark began at the 11:29 mark when
Pierson Jacobs capitalized on a man-up opportunity, finding the back of the net off a feed from
Jared Hazen. After Nazareth answered,
Nicolas Ange and
Patrick Donahoe each netted unassisted tallies to keep the momentum shifting.
Daniel Stiles then assisted a
Mason Michel goal with 3:24 remaining in the half, allowing Brockport to head into the locker room having narrowed the gap to 9-4.
The momentum shifted back to the home side in the third period as Nazareth went on a massive goal surge, outscoring Brockport 10-1 in the frame.
Patrick Donahoe managed to break the Nazareth run with an unassisted goal late in the period, but the deficit grew to 19-5 heading into the final 15 minutes.
Brockport continued to fight in the fourth quarter, with Kevin Jonathan scoring just under two minutes into the period.
Nicolas Ange added his second goal of the afternoon at the 6:18 mark, but the Golden Flyers added four late tallies to secure the 23-7 victory.
The Golden Eagles maintained a solid clearing game, finishing 22-for-28 on the afternoon, and battled for 37 ground balls against a physical Nazareth squad.
Top Performers
In the cage,
Jared Kulik faced a relentless attack of 67 total shots and delivered 20 saves—his third game this season with 20 or more saves—over nearly 51 minutes of action.
Luke L'Amoreaux added two saves in relief during the closing minutes.
Nicolas Ange and
Patrick Donahoe led the Brockport offense with two goals apiece.
Pierson Jacobs,
Mason Michel, and Kevin Jonathan each contributed a goal, while
Jared Hazen and
Daniel Stiles provided one assist each.
Defensively,
AJ Thomas was a standout, recording a team-high four caused turnovers and four ground balls. Kevin Jonathan also made his presence felt on the defensive end with two caused turnovers and three ground balls.
Up Next
Brockport will return home to A. Huntley Parker Jr. Field for their regular-season finale and Senior Day celebration against Keuka College. The Empire 8 matchup is scheduled for Saturday, April 25, at 1 p.m.