New London, Conn – Coast Guard Academy men's lacrosse junior Steven Danseglio (Islip Terrace, N.Y./East Islip) finished with six points on six goals while senior goalie Cory Pray (Medfield, Mass./Medfield) finished with 12 saves as the 20th-ranked Bears (10-4, 3-1) posted a 20-4 first-round PCLL playoff victory over Central Connecticut State University (3-7, 2-2) Wednesday at Cadet Memorial Stadium. As a result, the Coast Guard Academy earned a semifinal match against Stonehill College this Saturday, May 5th on Parsons Field (Northeastern University) at noon.
The Bears came out in a final exam week induced funk and quickly found themselves trailing early as the Blue Devils managed back-to-back goals to take a 2-0 first quarter lead. However, Danseglio, who scored 5 goals against Maine last week, got the Coast Guard offense revved up with a nice dodge and shoot down the right alley. Freshman Patrick Dreiss (Wantagh, N.Y./Holy Trinity) was not fazed by the early deficit and took charge scoring back-to-back goals to retake the lead at 3-2. Dreiss struck again minutes later with a great assist to junior James Lord (Simsbury, Conn./Westminster) for a 4-2 lead. With the clock ticking towards zero, the Bears fell asleep at the wheel and gave up a soft goal with seven seconds remaining in the quarter.
Central came out firing in the second quarter and knotted things up at four just two minutes in. However, senior Dan Symansky (Vienna, Va./Madison) won the subsequent draw and took it to the goal with a nice solo effort to regain the lead at 5-4. Senior Nick Zablotny (Annapolis, Md./Broadneck) then came through with the first of his four goals and followed it up with a nice "helper" to Danseglio for a "man-up missile" (the team photographer’s description) that made it 8-4 at halftime.
Coast Guard came out for the second half… and offense couldn’t be stopped and the defense was nearly impenetrable. The Bears went on a scoring rampage, netting the next 12 goals on a run that stretched through two quarters. Zablotny got the second half scoring going off a nice assist from junior Austin English (Stevensville, Md./Kent Island) who had six "helpers" on the night. Junior Joseph Kidwell (Crofton, Md./Arundel) got into the scoring column next with back-to-back goals to bring the lead to 11-4. Danseglio closed out the quarter with back-to-back goals of his own including a beautiful behind-the-back goal off a feed from English.
The Bears fed off this momentum and continued to dominate for the remainder of the game as senior Mark Ryan (Phoenix, AZ/Bernards), junior Stu Carley (Houston, Texas/James E. Taylor) and freshman Steve Reynolds (Westfield, Mass./Westfield) all tallied their first goals in the quarter.
The Bears shared the ball as eleven different players registered at least one point in the contest and 12 of the 20 goals were assisted. Senior Andrew Breen (Falls Church, Va./George Mason) and junior Tim Wyderko (West Bloomfield, Mich./Orchard Lake St. Mary's) led the team with six and five ground balls respectively.
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As the smallest of the five U.S. service academies, the Coast Guard Academy offers the elite higher education, rigorous professional development, and honor and tradition of a military academy but with a more personalized approach.
The Coast Guard Academy offers an integrated life experience which emphasizes academics, physical fitness, character and leadership, in order to graduate officers of the highest caliber. Graduates go directly to positions of leadership in "The Shield of Freedom," one of the most admired organizations in the world. The Academy also features an impressive teacher-student ratio and picturesque waterfront campus that instills a traditional small college feel.
Cadets devote themselves to an honor concept and graduate to work at sea, on land, in the air, and even in space, in meaningful careers of selfless service to others.