DELHI, N.Y. — SUNY Delhi men's lacrosse dropped its North Atlantic Conference opener Sunday, falling to Maine Maritime 13-10 at Neil Riddell Field in a game the Broncos led at halftime.

Delhi came out of the gate hot, building a 5-2 lead through the first quarter behind a strong individual effort from Jesse Hagen, who scored twice and added an assist. Jagger Beachak was equally active, opening the scoring and finishing the day with two goals and four assists. The early cushion looked like it might hold through the half — Benjamin Zeh tacked on a goal with six seconds left in the first to make it 5-2, and Beachak got another late in the second to send the teams to the break with Delhi on top, 6-5.

The Mariners had other ideas. Cole Michaud tied it in the second quarter, capping a three-goal run that erased Delhi's lead. Maine Maritime's attack was fueled all afternoon by Ryan Parent, who finished with four goals and five assists and was at the center of virtually every big Mariner sequence.

Delhi answered in the third with a VonKampen goal to go back up 7-6, and pushed the lead to 10-7 through the first ten minutes of the fourth. That's when Maine Maritime turned it on. Parent orchestrated a six-goal run over the final seven minutes, with Tobey Lappin closing it with a man-up goal as time expired.

A key factor was the face-off battle. Bryce Crowell won 18 of 27 draws for Maine Maritime, giving the Mariners a consistent edge in possession that Delhi's Dylan Csanko couldn't match at 8-for-24.

The Broncos fall to 2-5 on the season and 0-1 in the NAC, with Maine Maritime improving to 5-3, 1-0 NAC. Delhi is back in action Saturday, April 4th as they host Elmira for a mid-season non-conference matchup.

Photo by JB3 Sports Photos