OLD WESTBURY, N.Y.—The Southern New Hampshire University men's lacrosse team dropped a 16-5 decision in non-conference action to the New York Institute of Technology on Wednesday afternoon at President's Stadium. The loss drops the Penmen to 0-2 on the season, while the win boosts the Bears to 1-2 overall.

The Bears would take an early 3-0 lead before Keith Merluzzo (Billerica, Mass.) would tally the first Penmen goal with 5:28 remaining in the first quarter.  Joe Herman would tally a goal for the Bears with 2:07 left to play in the quarter to reclaim the three-goal advantage.

Merluzzo would kick off the second quarter with his second goal of the game 35 seconds into the quarter, but NYIT would respond with eight-straight goals to post a 12-2 advantage.  SNHU would tally back-to-back goals at the 4:27 and 3:21 marks of the third quarter, but it would not be enough as the Bears would outscore the Penmen four goals to one in the final quarter.

Merluzzo's two goals led the Penmen offensively.    Greg Reynolds (Scituate, Mass.) added two goals and an assist, and Chris Roach (Boxford, Mass.) and Mike Balaschi (Kingston, Mass.) added single tallies. 

Chris Lubin scored a game-leading six goals and added three assists for a nine-point performance for NYIT.  Joe Herman added four goals and two assists and Cory Triola added four goals and an assist offensively for the Bears.

Eric Gunst (Exeter, N.H.) took the loss in net for the Penmen and posted eight saves.  William McGee picked up the win between the pipes for the Bears and recorded nine saves.  NYIT outshot SNHU 42-22 on the afternoon.

Southern New Hampshire returns to action on Saturday, March 12, hosting Thomas College at 4:00 p.m. on Larkin Field.