OLD WESTBURY, N.Y.  – The No. 12/14 LIU Post men's lacrosse team suffered its first East Coast Conference loss of the season, falling to No. 8 New York Institute of Technology 11-7 in the Battle of the Boulevard rivalry April 21.
 
A fourth quarter comeback effort came up short for the Pioneers, as they drop to 4-1 in league play with the setback. The Green and Gold now sit a half game out of first place behind the Bears and are tied for second with Mercy College.
 
Sophomore Nick Grassa led the Pioneers with three goals and freshman William Snelders chipped in two tallies for the Pioneers. Freshman Ryan Blume and junior Thomas Liantonio added a goal apiece for the final two Pioneer strikes, while Liantonio also added two assists.
 
Between the pipes, junior Bryan Ochs stopped 11 shots on the day.
 
It was a slow start for both teams, as the Bears scored just one goal in each of the first two quarters while simultaneously holding the Pioneers scoreless for the first 29:54 of action to take a 2-1 lead into halftime. The NYIT offense came alive in the second half, however, scoring nine goals to keep LIU Post out of reach.
 
The Pioneers rallied in the fourth quarter, scoring five of the first seven goals to make it a one-goal game with 3:51 to play. The Bears shut the door the rest of the way though, scoring three more goals over the final three minutes to earn the 11-7 victory.
 
The Green and Gold will play its final non-conference game of the regular season on Tuesday, April 24 when the team travels to No. 16/17 St. Anselm College for a 3:30 p.m. battle with the Hawks.