STUART, Fla. –– Competing the the second annual MCHS College Classic, Palm Beach Atlantic (5-0) used timely scoring to outlast the University of Miami, 14-11. The Hurricanes (1-4) battled from behind from the start, erasing a 7-2 first quarter deficit to tie the game midway through the third quarter. PBA outscored Miami 6-3 from that point on, securing the key victory.
The Sailfish struck first on a Joe Ciringione (Merrick, N.Y./Sanford H. Calhoun) goal from Dave Schultz (Annapolis, Md./St. Mary's). Ciringione led the 'Fish in scoring, finishing with four goals and two assists. Junior transfer Dominic Scalzo (Webster, N.Y./Webster Thomas) notched the second goal and then assisted another Ciringione goal, increasing the Sailfish lead to three.
Following Miami's first goal of the game, Schultz scored unassisted on a dodge from the left side at 5:13 to make the score 4-1. Less than a minute later, senior defenseman Justin Shockley (Simpsonville, S.C./Hillcrest) turned a clear into a cross-field bounce pass that found Jack East (Mableton, Ga./Whitefield Academy), who scored on the crease for a five goal lead. The assist was also the first point of Shockley's career. The Sailfish extra-man unit continued to impress, as Schultz found senior Ryan Talks (Palm Beach, Fla./St. Andrew's) on the crease for a 6-1 lead.
At 0:55 of the first quarter, junior Colin Price (Fairfax Station, Va./Lake Braddock) scored on a 14 yard low-to-high shot to give Palm Beach Atlantic a 7-2 advantage. One Sailfish goal (Scalzo) is all PBA mustered in the second quarter; the Hurricanes outscored the 'Fish 3-1 and entered halftime trailing 8-5.
In the third, Miami continued to keep momentum, scoring three times in less than ten minutes and tying the game at eight. Another Schultz-to-Talks man up connection broke the tie at 4:24 of the third, giving PBA a lead they would never relinquish. The next goal came from Joe Ciringione, who scooped up a ground ball at midfield and out-sprinted his defender to the goal, scoring one-on-one and extend the lead to 10-8. Another Ciringione goal put Palm Beach Atlantic ahead 11-8.
In the fourth quarter, all three Miami goals scored were matched by a Sailfish answer, including two Bobby Hantske (Annapolis, Md./Southern) unassisted goals. Sophomore CJ Lucarelli (Naples, Fla./Barron Collier) registered two shots in the final quarter, barely missing both times.
Palm Beach Atlantic is back on the field this Sunday at 2:00 p.m. against No. 22 Kennesaw State University (1-5) in the first game of the 2013 Sailfish Shootout. Follow Palm Beach Atlantic men's lacrosse on Twitter (@PBALacrosse) for live-score updates of all Sailfish games this season.
Game Notes:
–Freshman LSM Tranard Cannon and sophomore midfielder Abel Cartwright were not available for the Sailfish against Miami.
–Despite the 14-11 victory, UM still leads the series 6-2, all-time. Both wins have come in the past two seasons for PBA (the Sailfish won 16-11 in 2012).
–The Sailfish are currently ranked No. 17 overall in the Nike/Inside Lacrosse MCLA Coaches Poll (Week 4). This is the highest Palm Beach Atlantic has ever been ranked.
–14 goals is PBA's lowest scoring output of the season.
–Palm Beach Atlantic finished 19/28 on face-offs (67.9%).