BROOKVILLE, N.Y. – The LIU men's lacrosse team hosted Merrimack in its second conference game of the season on Saturday, taking down the Warriors, 16-7. Eleven of the Sharks points came from Richie LaCalandra, who poured in six goals and five assists to tie his career high. With the victory, LIU moves to 5-4 and 2-0 in Northeast Conference play.
 
After Merrimack scored the game's first goal, Matt Riveira fired in the first goal for the Sharks at the 11:37 mark to tie the game at one. Seconds later, LaCalandra raced down the field to score and give LIU the first lead at 2-1. Those two goals started a 5-0 run that featured goals from Sean Boll, Ryan Blume, and Will Snelders. The Warriors answered with two goals to end the period with the Sharks leading 5-3.
 
In the second period, LaCalandra scored his second of the game off a Jake Gillis assist to increase the lead to 6-3. After a Warriors penalty, Blake Behlen converted a man-up opportunity for his first goal of the afternoon, followed by another Boll score to make it 8-3, Sharks.
 
Merrimack would again score two goals to cut into the deficit, but LaCalandra raced to the cage and earned a hat trick, scoring an unassisted goal, to bring the lead back up to four goals at 9-5, the eventual halftime score.
 
Four minutes passed in the third before LaCalandra added yet another goal, his fourth of the game, and Nick Colantonio scored an unassisted goal to pad the lead to 11-5. After another scoreless stretch of six minutes, LaCalandra reached five goals on another unassisted goal, increasing the lead to 12-5, LIU. Behlen would add his 20^th goal of the season before the period came to an end. It was 13-5, Sharks, heading to the final frame.
 
LaCalandra tied his career high in goals (6) with 12:47 left, making it 14-5. After the Warriors scored two goals of their own, Snelders scored off a LaCalandra assist, which tied his career high in assists (5), as well. To cap off the afternoon, Brad Beck fired in his first goal of the season, bringing the final score to 16-7, LIU.
 
Will Mark had another double-digit save performance with 14, earning his fifth win in cage of 2022. The Sharks caused seven turnovers on the day, with Blume earning two and Karl LaCalandra, Nicholas Davide, Chris Campbell, James Butler, and Tommy Ramsey each forcing one. Additionally, Justin Joseph won 16 of his 27 faceoff attempts. 
 
Up next, the Sharks will travel to Bryant on April 2, 12:00 P.M.