BROOKVILLE, N.Y. – The Sharks outscored their opponent during the fourth quarter for the third-consecutive game, though the rally was not enough as the Long Island University men's lacrosse team came up short to St. John's University, 17-15 at Bethpage Federal Credit Union Stadium on Saturday, Feb. 22.
 
LIU outscored St. John's, 6-1 during the fourth, giving them a 14-3 margin against their opponents during the final 15 minutes of play this season. The difference on Saturday came on special teams, however, as the Johnnies converted 6-of-7 extra-man opportunities. The Red Storm entered the day cashing in on 62-percent of their man-up chances, ranking 11th in the country through the first three weeks.
 
The Blue and Gold struggled to find the momentum on offense early, falling behind 6-2 after the first quarter. Despite trailing by as many as six goals (9-3) midway through the second stanza, the Sharks battled back and scored three of the final four goals of the half to enter the locker room trailing 10-6.
 
Will Snelders opened the scoring just over one minute into the second half with his third goal of the season, but the Red Storm responded with a 6-1 run to extend the lead to a game-high eight goals with 25 seconds remaining in the third period. LIU fired a shot just wide of the cage in the final seconds but retained possession with two seconds remaining on the clock. Jake Gillis ripped a pass from the near corner and found a cutting Alex Russell who just beat the buzzer to give LIU momentum heading into the final quarter.
 
The Sharks continued to roll on offense scoring the first four goals of the fourth quarter, including three in a 46-second span. Despite the Sharks cutting the lead to just three goals, St. John's pushed the lead back to four goals with Mike Madsen's third goal of the day with 5:52 remaining. Just over one minute later, Richie Lacalandra ripped home a shot from a tough angle and Jake Gillis scored an incredible behind-the-back goal on a feed from Lacalandra with three minutes to play to make it a two-goal game.
 
LIU won the ensuing faceoff but had a shot attempt blocked and could not regain possession again until the final 15 seconds as the comeback effort fell just short.
 
Richie Lacalandra and Snelders scored a team-best three goals, with Lacalandra adding two assists for five points. Nick Grassa, Russell, and Gillis all tallied multi-goal games, while Gillis also led the team with three assists. Patrick Harrington led the Sharks with four caused turnovers on the defensive end.
 
LIU returns to action in a week when they travel to nearby Hofstra University for a matchup with the Pride at James M. Shuart Stadium beginning at 1:00 p.m.