PORTLAND, ME – Saint Joseph's (1-1) toppled Thomas College (0-2), 16-0, in a non-conference men's lacrosse contest at Deering Memorial Stadium on Tuesday night. Senior attackman Jonathan Horgan (Hingham, Mass.) netted five goals in the lopsided triumph.
The SJC scoring effort required time to develop, as the hosts did not reach the back of the cage until freshman Dalton Eldridge (South Gardiner, Maine) fired a shot past Thomas keeper Jesse Morkeski (Damariscotta, Maine) with 3:50 left in the first quarter. The goal was Eldridge's first NCAA tally and fellow freshman Max Meserve (Kennebunk, Maine) was credited with his first collegiate assist on the play.
The Monks went on net two more goals in the first quarter, including a man-up score from Horgan with 2:43 left in the opening stanza. Senior Kody Peckham (West Gardiner, Maine) opened up the second-quarter scoring with his first goal of the season at the 9:50 mark. Horgan produced his second and third goals of the contest and sophomore Jake Ricciardi (Sharon, Mass.) added his second of the night, and fourth of the season, to extend the SJC cushion to 7-0 heading into halftime.
Meserve kicked off the third quarter with his first NCAA goal off a Sean Flanagan (Hingham, Mass.) pass at the 4:37 mark. Horgan scored just six seconds later and made it back to back scores with his fifth marker of the game to lift the Royal Blue to a 10-0 advantage with 7:32 left in the third period.
Saint Joseph's held large advantages in shots (64-17), ground balls (71-45), face-off wins (17-3) and caused turnovers in the victory.
For the Monks, Meserve put forth a solid performance with a goal, four assists and nine ground balls and Eldridge recorded two goals, an assist, and four ground balls on the night. Senior midfielder Paul Dolewa (Saco, Maine) added three assists, Flanagan chipped in with a goal and an assist, and sophomore midfielder Ahmed Dorghoud (Woodbridge, Va.) posted a breakout with 17 face-off wins in 20 attempts to go with a goal and nine ground balls in the Monks' first victory of the season.
For the Terriers, freshman midfielder Matt Davis (Farmington, Maine) notched a game-high 12 ground balls and sophomore midi Gunnar Shelton (Eugene, Ore.) contributed 10 ground balls in a losing effort.
Three goalies saw time in the cage for the Monks as junior starter Christopher Driscoll (Saco, Maine) made six saves in 30:16 of play, freshman Jason Yasenchock (Rochester, N.H.) recorded three stops in 27:22, and Ethan Rettew (Ephrata, Pa.) was untested in 2:22 of mop-up duty.
Morkeski was busy in 32:26 minutes between the pipes with 16 saves and 13 goals allowed and senior keeper Derek Racine (Sabattus, Maine) made four stops while surrendering three goals in 27:34 of play.
With the win Saint Joseph's improves to 3-2 in the history of the series with Thomas College. The Monks have now defeated the Terriers in three consecutive meetings dating back to the 2010 campaign. For St. Joe's, the shutout is the third in the program's five-year history and first since a 19-0 win over Rivier College on April 13th, 2010.
Saint Joseph's will host University of Southern Maine at Deering Memorial Stadium on Thursday at 4:30 PM while Thomas hosts Mass.-Maritime in the team's home-opener on Saturday at 3:00 PM.
Saint Joseph's College, founded in 1912 by the Sisters of Mercy, celebrates its Centennial year in 2012 with a theme of "Realize the Promise" – honoring our commitment to educating well-rounded graduates who combine career focus with classic liberal arts studies. A Private, Catholic, primarily residential, coeducational liberal arts institution, Saint Joseph's welcomes students of all ages and all faiths. The campus, located 18 miles northwest of Portland and just two hours from Boston, encompasses 350 acres along the shore of beautiful Sebago Lake in Standish, Maine. Enrollment ranges between 1,000 and 1,100 students annually. Saint Joseph's offers challenging academic programs in the liberal arts and sciences, education, nursing and business fields in a value-centered environment.
