ASTON, Pa. – On an afternoon in which nine Neumann University Men's Lacrosse seniors were honored, the Knights dropped a tough 16-11 decision to their Atlantic East Conference rivals, the Gwynedd Mercy University Griffins, on Saturday afternoon.
 
Neumann scored the first two goals of the game, a minute and a half apart, thanks to Wyatt Belotti and Kyle Daly. Gwynedd Mercy responded with two in 1:10 to equalize with 9:39 left in the first. Sam Nice notched an unassisted goal with 6:12 left but the Griffins tied the game with a man-up goal with 19 seconds left.
 
Once again, the Knights started the second strong using goals from Brendan Boschi and Mike Kiley but Gwynedd Mercy went on a four goal run over the next five minutes, giving them a 7-5 lead. Belotti broke the string with an unassisted goal with 5:53 left in the half but the Griffins grabbed the two goal lead back. Neumann closed the half with two goals in the final minute, both by Boschi, including one with four seconds left, evening the game at eight after 30 minutes.
 
It was Gwynedd Mercy's turn to start a quarter with vigor as they took control of the game with another four goal run over the first 10 minutes of the period. Renzo Garone and Belotti pulled the Knights back within two but the Griffins scored the last goal of the third and first two of the fourth. Emmett Wexler grabbed a Kiley feed to come back within four but with 1:45 left, Gwynedd Mercy sealed the game.
 
Boschi led the offense with three goals and an assist. Belotti also had a hat-trick, helping with four ground balls and a caused turnover. Garone and Kiley had a goal and an assist each with Garone adding three ground balls. Jake Methlie had a strong day in the face-off "X" winning 15 faceoffs and scooping a team high 10 ground balls. Owen Avelar made 14 saves in the losing effort.
 
Neumann (4-9, 0-3 Atlantic East) will return to action on Wednesday night as they host another conference rival, the Marymount University Saints. The game is scheduled for a 7:00 PM start.