BUZZARDS BAY, Mass. – The Massachusetts Maritime Academy men's lacrosse team celebrated eight seniors, including Teddy McGowan, the Buccaneers' Team IMPACT player, in a 13-0 loss to the U.S. Coast Guard Academy on a beautiful evening at Clean Harbors Stadium.

Pre-game ceremonies marked the penultimate home match for six players in the starting lineup. Cody Livermore, Jack Mahoney, Keaghan Bartley, Sam Hastings, and Bobby Macarthy started things off. Two of the team's tri-captains, Nick Zaia and Marshall McCarthy were the last players to walk to center pitch, joined by McGowan.

Teddy has been a vital member of the team since being drafted, with the mens laxers running the MitoAction 5K on multiple occasions to support research for the mitochondrial disease from which he suffers.

The Coast Guard Academy distracted from the heart-warming rite of passage with the best-played lacrosse contested at Clean Harbors this season. After winning the opening face-off, no easy task against the dogged Michael Sharry, the Bucs' face-off specialist, the Bears showed off their well-disciplined passing attack, shooting only four times in the first five minutes, with Riley McNulty finding the back of the night with the last of those shots.

At the 6:14 mark, Will Iorio took advantage of a one-minute slashing penalty on MMA by rifling a pinpoint pass to Ian Logan, who flicked home for the visitors' second marker. The third goal of the first quarter came just under four minutes later after Alec Groff caused a turnover and Justin Edwards picked up the groundball. Benner Geurtsen followed with a helper for Connor Ellis.

The Bears won the opening face-off of the second and converted on a goal from Iorio to Geurtsen. A minute later, USCGA repeated the exact same feat, with Conor Rowan on the assist. Three more goals would come before half-time as Coast Guard dominated possession and showcased a relentlessly physical defense.

Four goals in the third, including two from Jack Pope and one by Mike McCaslin with the Bears down a man, added to the Bucs' misery. The final goal came a mere 16 seconds into the final stanza as Coast Guard coasted to the 13-0 victory.

Iori finished with a game-high six points on two goals and four assists. Geurtsen had a hat trick and an assist, putting five of his four shots on goal. McNulty led both teams in shots (10) and shots on target (7) to lead a squad that had a whopping 41 takes, putting 28 on target.

Meanwhile, the iron-tight defense permitted a mere 18 shots, including eight on frame by Maritime. Bartley, Franklin Ragge, Alexandre Lucas all took four shots, with Lucas the only Buccaneer with three attempts on goal. Bartley had five groundballs and McCarthy four of his own, but the host side lost the ground war 35-25 as Coast Guard used its extremely deep roster to have 15 players pick up grounders and another 10 record at least one point.

Michael Dolan (5-7) took the loss, saving 11-of-23 attempts. The numbers did not reflect Dolan's best performance of the season, in which he prevented several lasers shot with precision just above the ground. Michael Pierson played the last quarter, coming up with 4-of-5 attempts on goal. Trey Johnson needed only the first half to improve to 10-3, saving the only attempt. Charles McAllister and Josh Ordoñez finished off the game.

The Bears improved to 11-3 on the season, including 4-1 in the NEWMAC. Mass Maritime dropped to 5-7, 0-5 and will host Wheaton for its last home match on Wednesday at 7 p.m. All are welcome to Clean Harbors Stadium and admission is free.

Make sure to bookmark www.mmabucs.com and get the inside scoop on Facebook and Twitter @mmabuccaneers. Plus, check out our new Instagram @massmaritimebuccaneers.

Gabriel Fidler, Sports Information Associate