ASTON, Pa. - A slow start doomed the Neumann University men's lacrosse team on Wednesday evening as the Knights dropped a 23-13 decision to visiting Stockton University in a non-conference matchup.
 
Drew Conlon did his best to keep the Knights in the game with nine points on four goals and five assists. Rich Marshall chipped in with three goals and an assist on the evening, while Brett McLaughlin added a goal and two helpers. Jake Marchiafava made 16 saves in goal in a losing effort.
 
Sluggish starts have really hurt this Neumann team in their losses this season and Wednesday night was no different. The Knights kept things close early in the first frame, but would fall apart late in the quarter. The two teams traded early markers as Conlon answered an Osprey tally with a goal at the 13:33 mark to make it 1-1. Stockton retaliated with three unanswered goals before Marshall finished off a Conlon feed to make it 4-2 with 4:51 remaining in the period. The floodgates opened from there though, as the visitors stunned the Knights with six straight goals to end the quarter at a 10-2 score-line.
 
Still reeling from the Osprey blitzkrieg late in the first, the Knights conceded three more times to start the second stanza, falling behind by a score of 13-2 with 9:53 left in the half. Despite the heavy deficit, Neumann would not quit. The hosts fought back with four of the final five goals of the frame to work themselves back into the contest. Conlon and Max Nice scored back to back 1:30 apart to make it 13-4, then after a Stockton goal with just over five minutes left in the period, Mike Kiley and Wyatt Belotti tallied in the final minutes of the half to send the game to halftime 14-6.
 
After making a few defensive adjustments, Neumann was able to slow down the Osprey attack in the third quarter. The Knights held Stockton to just one goal in the period to keep themselves in the contest. However, the Neumann offense stalled as well, as the Knights were only able to grab a pair of goals from Conlon and Marshall to send the game to the final frame with the score at 15-8.
 
The hosts tried their best to continue closing the gap, but could not get any closer than the seven-goal deficit. The two teams traded goals throughout the fourth until the Ospreys pulled away in the final seven minutes with four unanswered goals. Neumann received a pair of goals from Conlon and single tallies from McLaughlin, Sam Nice and Kyle Daly, but the team would ultimately fall by a score of 23-13.
 
With the loss, Neumann (7-4) closes out the non-conference portion of its schedule. The Knights will open Atlantic East Conference play this Saturday, April 2nd when the team plays host to Centenary University at 12:00 PM.