STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. – It was a huge return to the lineup for Jake Gillis, scoring six goals and dishing out one assist to lead the Long Island University men's lacrosse team to an 18-13 victory at Wagner College on Saturday, March 27.
 
Gillis showed little rust after missing the previous two contests, leading all scorers with six goals and 13 shot attempts. Richie LaCalandra added three goals and two assists, while Will Snelders, Dylan Villari, and Ryan Blume scored two goals each. Blake Behlen continued to serve as the offensive distributor, handing out five assists on the afternoon.
 
Anthony Dimatteo finished 16-for-28 at the faceoff X, collecting 13 ground balls in the process. Karl LaCalandra and Nicholas Davide caused two turnovers each and Will Mark posted 13 saves between the pipes.
 
The Blue and Gold took command early, outscoring the Seahawks 4-1 during the opening quarter. Wagner tallied two goals to open the second stanza before the Sharks tallied three unanswered goals to extend the lead to four goals. Wagner closed the half on a 4-0 burst, leveling the score at halftime and capped the run with a goal early in the third quarter to take an 8-7 lead.
 
LIU responded with three unanswered goals to retake the lead, as LaCalandra found the back of the net twice in under a minute. Wagner refused to go away quietly, however, as the Seahawks scored three straight once again to jump ahead 11-10. Both sides traded goals with Wagner taking its final lead at 12-11 with 3:50 remaining in the period.
 
A Gillis goal ignited a 7-0 run, highlighted by four tallies from the Canadian to give LIU the insurmountable lead and lead the Sharks to a 4-0 mark in conference play to begin the season.
 
The Sharks will look to make it six in a row when they travel to Merrimack College on Saturday, April 3 for a 1:00 p.m. meeting with the Warriors.