FREDERICK, MD. - The Saint Joseph's College men's lacrosse took its second setback of the season (2-2) as Hood College built on a 6-1 halftime lead with six unanswered goals in the third quarter en route to a 15-3 victory over the Monks at Thomas Athletic Field.
Spencer Hunt '13 (Jeffersonville, VT) led St. Joe's with two goals extending his goal streak to four games. Jake Ricciardi '14 (Sharon, MA) tallied a goal and an assist, while Benson Pasquarello '12 (Kennebunk, ME) also had an assist in the losing effort.
Kris Miner '11 (Clinton Township, MI) had six points on four goals and two assists to lead the Blazers (2-0) while Corey Roberts '12 (Fallston, MD) registered three goals, Scott Thompson '12 (Las Vegas, NV) also contributed with two goals and two assists.
St. Joes goalkeeper Christopher Driscoll '13 (Saco, ME) had several strong saves in the first half to keep the game in reach for the Monks and finished the day with 13 stops on 25 shots on goal. A trio of netminders, John Martin '13 (Thornton, PA) Nicholas O'Brien '11 (Baltimore, MD) and William Lane '13 (Walkersville, MD), spent time in net for the Blazers and combined to make 10 saves.
The Monks finally got on the board with a man-up goal by Hunt eleven minutes into the second stanza to cut the deficit to five goals at the half.
Hood, whose 15 goals was the most scored against the Monks this season, put the game away with an explosive third quarter that saw the Blazers find the back of the net six times, including two near the six minute mark off man-down goals by Thompson and Miner.
Ricciardi and Hunt both scored midway through the fourth quarter for the Monks, but the Blazers responded with three goals of their own to seal the win for the hosts.
Hood held commanding advantages in ground balls (76-46) and face-off wins (18-4) and notched a solid 84% (21-25) success rate on clear attempts in the victory. The Blazers' ground ball total is the second-most allowed by the Monks in the team's three-plus seasons as an NCAA DIII program. Mount St. Vincent collected 77 ground balls versus St. Joe's on April 4th, 2009.
The Monks will resume action Monday, March 14th, when they close out their spring trip in Maryland with a first-ever meeting against Frostburg State at 4:00 PM at Bobcat Stadium.
