Siena ends VMI lax season with loss

The VMI lacrosse team concluded its 2011 campaign with an 18-9 defeat against the Siena Saints Saturday, April 30 in Loudonville, N.Y. Drew Leonard scored five goals in the contest, which also marked the final game in the careers of VMI’s pair of departing seniors, Bobby Davis and Lowell Patterson. Leonard’s career day gives him 31 scores of the season, the most since Leo McInerney scored 35 in the 2005 season.

The Saints set the tone early on, taking a 6-1 lead in the first quarter, scored the first three goals game before Leonard put the Keydets on the board with 8:07 left in the first. Following Leonard’s first score, Siena rattled off a 4-0 run to take a commanding 7-1 lead.

Davis cut the advantage to 7-2 with 10:44 left in the second on a feed from junior Keith Long, giving the senior his seventh score of the season and Long a team-best 20 assists.

Despite a close second quarter with VMI scoring five goals to Siena’s four, the Saints carried an 11-5 lead into the halftime intermission, outshooting the Keydets 31-20 in the opening half.

Siena in term shutout VMI in the third quarter, outscoring VMI 3-0 in the period. Trailing 14-5 heading into the final quarter of action, Leonard scored three goals in the final quarter of the season, while junior Andrew Nieminski added his seventh tally of the year with 4:24 left.

Three goalies saw action for the Keydets, as sophomore Matt Lindemann played the first half, allowing 11 goals and making 12 stops. Junior Kelly McMinn played nearly 28 minutes in the cage, while sophomore J Rice saw his first action of the season, playing two minutes and allowing one score. In all, VMI made 20 saves to 15 for Siena. Siena starter Tom Moor played 45 minutes and allowed five goals along with nine stops, while Bill Kelly played the final 15 minutes and made six saves and allowed four goals.

Siena won the ground ball battle, 47-38, while junior Stephen Robarge went 20-for-30 in the faceoff X, and had 13 ground balls. Bryan Neufield let the charge for the Saints on offense with five scores, while 11 different Saints scored at least one goal.

The Keydets close out the 2011 season with a 2-11 overall record, and 0-6 mark in in MAAC action.