BUZZARDS BAY, MA -- The Buccaneers played host to Johnson & Wales on Tuesday evening at home in their final tuneup game before conference play opens on Saturday. The Buccaneers, down at the half, rallied back behind solid offense and sound defense to win the game 11-8 over the Wildcats.

The Basics

Final: Buccaneers 11, Wildcats 8

Records: Maritime (2-5)

              Johnson & Wales (4-3)

Between the Pipes

Maritime: Sean Lally (W, 2-2): 8 GA| 60 Min | 10 Sv | 18 SH

Johnson & Wales: Chris april (L, 1-3): 6 GA | 30 Min | 4 Sv | 10 SH

In The Field

Maritime

• Nick Lamattina led the way for the Bucs with three goals. 
• Mitchell Maida, Ryan Cameron, and Braeden Kosiewicz each scored twice.
• Jack Iversen and Doug Walker had a goal each in the win. 
• Iversen tallied three assists in the game, Maida racked up two. 
• Peter Raei, Patrick Lawson, and goalkeeper Sean Lally each had an assist as well.
• Lally picked up the most ground balls for the Bucs in the game with four. 
• LEC Defensive Player of the Week, Leo Allgaier was credited with a game-high eight caused turnovers and picked up three ground balls.
• Maritime picked up 28 ground balls, were successful on 26 of 29 clear attempts, and took 39 total shots in the game.

Johnson & Wales

• Chris Calisto led all scorers with four in the game. Tyler Drago, Mike Muench, Mike Catuosco, and Donny McInnis all scored one goal in the loss.
• Drago had two assists in the game with Alex Padula, Joe McIntyre and Calisto each assisting one goal.
• Catuoso picked up a game-high 19 ground balls while also causing a team-high five turnovers. He was also the face off man for the 'Cats, winning 20 of 23 faceoffs.
• JWU picked up 39 ground balls, were successful on 16 of 20 clears and took a total of 39 shots in the loss.

How It Happened

Johnson & Wales scored first on a Drago goal 43 seconds into the game. The Bucs, Kosiewicz and Maida, then scored back-to-back goals to take a 2-1 lead. In the final five minutes of the first, JWU scored twice to retake the lead, 3-2, at the end of the first quarter of play. 

The second quarter provided the most offense, three goals by either team. Maritime opened the second 15 with a goal from Iversen 3:33 into the quarter to tie the game at threes. The Wildcats then scored two to open the lead to two goals, their largest of the game. The Bucs rallied to tied the game up with just under three minutes left before half time. Johnson & Wales didn't the the tie last long as they netted a goal, from McInnis, with 17 second left in the second to take a 6-5 lead into the halftime break.

The third quarter was the lowest scoring quarter of the game with just three goals, two from the Buccaneers which earned them back the lead, 7-6, with two minutes left in the third. Much like the end of the half, the Wildcats scored with under 30 left to tie the game at seven apiece heading to the fourth. 

As the game got chippy with some extracurriculars during play, the Buccaneers grabbed a hold of the momentum and went on a three-goal run in the fourth between 14:33 and 4:54. With the defense playing well behind them, the offense provided the team with a 10-7 lead, the largest lead of the game for either team. With 3:24 left Calisto scored for JWU to cut the deficit to two. Off the ensuing faceoff, the Bucs came down and scored, 13 seconds late, from the stick of Cameron, adding insurance as the Bucs took an 11-8 lead. Allgaier and the Bucs defense stood pat and didn't allow another goal as they took the win, 11-8, over Johnson & Wales.

What's Next

The Buccaneers host Keene State on Saturday at 1pm at Clean Harbors Stadium in their first Little East Conference game since joining the conference in 2019-2020.