PORTLAND, ME – Saint Joseph's (5-4) defeated Johnson State (0-2), 16-7, in a non-conference men's lacrosse contest at Deering Memorial Stadium on Thursday night. Paul Dolewa '12 (Saco, ME) netted four goals and two assists in the triumph.
The Monks held a slim 7-5 cushion heading into intermission and the Badgers narrowed their deficit to a single goal with a marker just 29 seconds into the third quarter. St. Joe's answered with five straight scores and led by six – 12-6 – after Dolewa tallied a man-up goal at the 13:58 mark of the fourth quarter.
Johnson State managed to break the scoring drought with a tally at the 13:40 mark of the final quarter, but Saint Joseph's quashed the notion of a comeback by the visitors with a 4-0 run to close out the game.
For the Monks, Spencer Hunt '13 (Jeffersonville, VT) registered two goals, five assists and five ground balls, Zach Chaisson '14 (Concord, NH) added four goals – including three in the fourth quarter – and Blake Edwards '11 (Glide, OR) chipped in with two goals and an assist.
SJC netminder Christopher Driscoll '13 (Saco, ME) recorded six saves in what was the 10th victory of his career. Elliot LaMarre '11 (Raymond, ME) won 13 of 19 face-off attempts and scooped up a game-high 11 ground balls and Jack LaFreniere '13 (Alton, NH) added four caused turnovers in the win.
For the Badgers, Alex Petti '12 (East Greenwich, RI) scored three goals and picked up five ground balls and Maxxwell Connolly '13 (Rollinsford, NH) added 10 ground balls in a losing effort.
Johnson State goalkeeper Branden Sawyer '11 (East Greenwich, RI) made 16 saves between the pipes.
Saint Joseph's held statistical advantages across the board with leads in shots (70-21), ground balls (58-37), face-off wins (16-10) and clears (16-14) in the victory. The Monks also forced 47 turnovers while committing 32 miscues on the night.
With the result, St. Joe's improves to 2-1 in the history of the match-up with Johnson State.
St. Joe's will host Lasell College in the Monks' first-ever Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) game this Saturday at Deering Memorial Stadium. The game is slated to begin at 12:45 PM.