Senior Dylan Klusaritz winds up for Chestnut Hill College. (Photo by Tom Utescher)

by Tom Utescher

With five minutes remaining in the third quarter of last Thursday's home lacrosse match, the men of Chestnut Hill College were on the wrong end of a 9-2 score against New York Institute of Technology, the 10th-ranked team in the Division II U.S. Intercollegiate Lacrosse Association coaches' poll.

The host Griffins got one point back during a man-up sequence later in the third period, then began the fourth frame with a three-goal burst that tightened the score to 9-6. Unfortunately for the home crowd, CHC got no closer than that, and a final marker for the visiting Bears locked in the score at 10-6.

NYIT returned north with a 5-4 record, while Chestnut Hill, which got two goals apiece from junior Casey Brown and freshman J.R. Howell, slipped to 2-5 overall.

The Griffins are playing under a new head coach this spring, Mike Terranova. He was an administrator at the college when men's lacrosse was introduced in 2009 and he helped form the program in its early stages. He served as associate head coach and offensive coordinator, and then became an assistant coach at Division I Lafayette College. A New York State native, Terranova played lacrosse at SUNY Buffalo, graduating in 2007 and going on to earn a Master's degree at Chestnut Hill.

Last Thursday, the zeroes remained on the scoreboard for a little over eight minutes, and when NYIT broke the ice, Brown answered for the Griffins less than two minutes later. That would be the only marker for CHC during the first half, though.

New head coach Mike Terranova urges on his CHC squad. (Photo by Tom Utescher)

The visitors went up 2-1 before the end of the first frame, and in the second quarter the first of their three goals was scored by senior Leroy Halftown. Hailing from western New York State, Halftown belongs to the Seneca Nation of the Iroquois Confederation, with whom the sport of lacrosse originated.

As the second half got underway, the Bears' lead grew to 6-1 before CHC received its second goal from freshman Mickey Holland with a little under three minutes elapsed. However, NYIT pumped in three goals in a span of just over two minutes in the middle of the third quarter, assuming a commanding 9-2 advantage.

With 4:33 to go in the third round, Chestnut Hill's Brown was able to cash in on a man-up opportunity, but the hosts were still behind by six goals for the start of the final stanza.

Early in the fourth quarter, they cut their deficit in half as Howell fired back-to-back goals and senior Josh Pope scored in transition to make it 9-6 with just two minutes and 40 seconds elapsed.

The visitors recovered their bearings on defense, and Halftown scored what would be the final goal of the day with 10:23 remaining. NYIT was hit with a penalty about four minutes later, but CHC could not capitalize this time. Halftown and teammate Matt Murphy were the game's high scorers, with three goals apiece.