Sailfish Score 10 Unanswered Goals to Bury Georgia Southern

WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. –– Using their relentless offensive attack, Palm Beach Atlantic jolted Georgia Southern for ten straight goals on the way to a 15-7 victory. Attackman Colin Price (Fairfax Station, Va./Lake Braddock) and midfielder Dave Schultz (Annapolis, Md./St. Mary’s) led all Sailfish goal scorers with three goals apiece, while senior Joe Ciringione (Merrick, N.Y./Sanford H. Calhoun) finished with two goals and four assists.

The game began with back-to-back goals––one from PBA, one from Georgia Southern. Following the early tie, PBA (9-4) went on a three goal run to end the quarter. Senior Jesse Vanatta (Springfield, Va./West Springfield) notched his first of two, while Price scored, as did Bobby Hantske (Annapolis, Md./Southern).

The Eagles (5-4), trailed 4-1 before mounting a comeback, scoring twice early in the second. Following a PBA answer at 2:00, Georgia Southern answered on their own at 0:30, cutting the lead to 5-4. In the closing seconds of the half, Schultz found a way to knife through the GSU defense, scoring the first of ten straight Sailfish goals at 0:07.

In the second half, PBA’s defense rose to the occasion and held Georgia Southern scoreless until 2:28 of the fourth quarter. Led by the efforts of goalie Ryan Talks (Palm Beach, Fla./St. Andrew’s), the trio of Branden Bernstein (Palm Beach Gardens, Fla./Palm Beach Gardens), Chris Bing (Massapequa Park, N.Y./Massapequa), Justin Shockley (Simpsonville, S.C./Hillcrest) played exceptionally well down the stretch.

Offensively, the ‘Fish got started on a Jack East (New Orleans, La./Whitefield Academy (Ga.)) goal from the left-alley at 7:50. PBA followed with three unassisted goals, one from junior Dennis Koleda (Huntington, N.Y./Harborfields) and two from Joe Ciringione, to take a 10-4 lead into the fourth quarter.

The Sailfish kept the mojo going in the final frame with a goal from Hantske at 11:48, followed by a ridiculous one-handed goal from Schultz (ala Johns Hopkins’ Zach Palmer) just fifteen seconds later. Midway through the fourth, Price and Ciringione combined for their fourth and sixth points, respectively, and Jesse Vanatta scored his second.

With 3:32 remaining in the game, PBA gained a 15-4 lead on a Kyle Whitmire (Simpsonville, S.C./Hillcrest) goal from Jack East. The Eagles managed to score three goals late, including the final goal as time expired.

The Sailfish return to action this Saturday, April 14 at 7 p.m. for a key rivalry game against Florida Gulf Coast University (9-2). A win for PBA will clinch the SELC South Division and lock up the #1 seed in the SELC Conference Tournament later this month in Atlanta, Ga. Follow Palm Beach Atlantic men’s lacrosse on Twitter (@PBALacrosse) for more details and live-score updates of all games this season.

Game Notes:
–By way of the 15-7 win, Palm Beach Atlantic is now 4-1 all-time versus Georgia Southern University. PBA won last season’s meeting in Statesboro by a score of 23-7.
–The Sailfish look to join the Nike/Inside Lacrosse MCLA Coaches Poll this week. PBA was last ranked on March 2, 2009 (No. 21 overall). The Sailfish are currently ranked No. 12 on the LaxPower MCLA Division II Computer Ratings.
–Palm Beach Atlantic improves to 9-4 with the win, setting a team record for most wins in program history. The previous high was eight (2009, 2011).
–PBA has currently won five games in-a-row. This is the longest streak in program history.
–Senior attackman Joe Ciringione leads all Sailfish in points scored with seventy-five (75). Sophomore attackman Colin Price leads in goals scored with forty-four (44).
–Palm Beach Atlantic finished 19/26 on clears (73.1%).
–Palm Beach Atlantic finished 12/23 on face-offs (52.1%).

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