Mariners Top Broncos in Hard-Fought NAC Championship, 14-12

5/4/2025 7:11:11 PM

CASTINE, Maine – Top-seeded Maine Maritime Academy (10-5) rallied from a 7-4 halftime deficit to defeat #2 SUNY Delhi (11-5), 14-12, in a hard-fought North Atlantic Conference (NAC) Men’s Lacrosse Championship on Sunday afternoon at Ritchie Field.

With the victory, the Mariners secured their third NAC title (2022, 2023, 2025) and earned the conference’s automatic qualifier to the 2025 NCAA Division III Men’s Lacrosse Tournament, which begins Wednesday, May 7.

For SUNY Delhi, the tough loss marks the end of the 2025 campaign.

HOW IT HAPPENED:
It was a tale of two halves. SUNY Delhi controlled the first 30 minutes, building a 7-4 lead at the break, but Maine Maritime responded with nine unanswered goals in the second half and held off a late Bronco rally to seal the 14-12 win.

The Broncos jumped out to a 3-0 lead in the opening quarter, fueled by goals from Benjamin Moscatiello, Kyle Moore, and Shane VonKampen, and outshot the Mariners 17-3 in a dominant first period.

Delhi extended its lead to 5-0 with two more goals in the second quarter before Brendan Reddington put Maine Maritime on the board off a feed from Trey Marcil with 3:44 before the break. The teams then combined for five goals in the final three minutes of the half, capped by a buzzer-beater from VonKampen to give Delhi a 7-4 edge at intermission.

Maine Maritime roared out of the break. Ryan Dunstan scored two minutes into the third quarter to spark a 9-0 run. The Mariners tied the game when Sam Nichol scored off a Reddington assist at the 7:48 mark of the third, then took the lead 90 seconds later when Reddington returned the favor off a Nichol feed with what proved to be the game-winner.

Tristan Reinhold, Reddington, Cole Michaud, Jaden Knight, and Nichol all contributed goals during the run, which ended with Maine Maritime leading 13-7 with 9:54 to play.

Delhi finally snapped its drought when Chris Lazazzaro scored with 8:14 left, launching a comeback that included goals from Moscatiello, Joseph Lazazzaro, and Jagger Beachak to pull within 13-11 with 5:16 remaining.

Nichol halted the surge with his third goal of the game at the 2:03 mark, giving the Mariners a three-goal cushion. Beachak added a late goal with 31 seconds left, but Andrew Noyes turned away Delhi’s final shot, and the Mariners cleared the ball to seal the win.

TEAM STATS:

SUNY Delhi led in shots (49-46), shots on goal (27-23), ground balls (45-26), and face-off wins (16-13), but committed 23 turnovers.

GOALIES:

Andrew Noyes made 15 saves in 58:27 for MMA before Will Farrell closed out the final 1:33.
Jayden Messina had nine saves in the loss for SUNY Delhi.

MAINE MARITIME LEADERS:

Brendan Reddington: 5 goals, 1 assist
Sam Nichol: 3 goals, 1 assist
Trey Marcil: 1 goal, 2 assists, 3 ground balls
Tobey Lappin: 1 goal, 3 assists, 2 ground balls
Ryan Dunstan: 1 goal, 1 assist, 2 ground balls
Bryce Crowell: 12-for-27 face-offs, 3 ground balls
Matthew Villeneuve: 5 ground balls

SUNY DELHI LEADERS:

Benjamin Moscatiello & Shane VonKampen: 3 goals each
Jagger Beachak: 1 goal, 4 assists
Chris Lazazzaro: 2 goals, 1 assist, 4 ground balls, 2 caused turnovers
Kyle Moore: 2 goals, 3 ground balls
Joseph Lazazzaro: 1 goal, 1 assist, 5 ground balls
Anthony Ferrato: 15-for-27 face-offs, 9 ground balls
Liam Dodd: 4 ground balls, 1 caused turnover

ALL-TOURNAMENT TEAM:
Bryce Crowell, Maine Maritime – MVP
Sam Nichol, Maine Maritime
Brendan Reddington, Maine Maritime
Matthew Villeneuve, Maine Maritime
Liam Dodd, SUNY Delhi
Jayden Messina, SUNY Delhi
Benjamin Moscatiello, SUNY Delhi
Sean Lyne, Husson
Kiernan Field, Husson
Hunter Vail, Thomas
Ciaran Vizi, Thomas