PORTLAND, ME – Saint Joseph's College (1-0) erased a 4-2 deficit with 12 unanswered goals in a 14-4 victory over Husson University (0-1) in non-conference men's lacrosse action at Deering Memorial Stadium on Tuesday night. Junior attackman Jake Ricciardi (Sharon, Mass.) scored a game-high four goals in the Monks' season-opening victory.

 With the help of goals from Ricciardi and freshman attackman Austin Watts (Westbrook, Maine), the Monks held a 2-1 edge five minutes into play. The Eagles responded with three straight scores, including a pair from junior midfielder Chris Delgiudice (Oakland, Maine) and carried a 4-2 advantage heading into the second quarter.

Unfortunately for the visitors, the latter Delguidice marker – scored 11:42 into the contest – would be the their last goal of the evening as the Monks managed to hold the Eagles off the scoreboard for the remaining 48:18 of the game.

Senior midfielder Jordan Grant (Windsor, Maine) drew his team within one with his first goal of the season, off a Jake O'Brien (Andover, Mass.) feed, 1:13 into the second stanza and Ricciardi knotted the contest at four-apiece with a man-up tally over eight minutes later. Junior midfielder Andrew Hamill (Wolfeboro, N.H.) was credited with an assist on the tying score.

With the clock winding down towards intermission, Saint Joseph's proceeded to net four goals in the closing three minutes of the second quarter to secure an 8-4 lead heading into the break. O'Brien started the scoring barrage with his first NCAA goal – and eventual game-winner - at the 2:49 mark and Ricciardi, Hamill and Grant potted a goal apiece to provide the Royal Blue with a four-goal advantage at halftime.

The third quarter featured little offense, as sophomores Max Meserve (Kennebunk, Maine) and Dalton Eldridge (South Gardiner, Maine) found the back of the cage for the Monks to make it a 10-4 contest going into the final frame. Saint Joseph's managed to ice the game with four insurance scores in the fourth quarter, as Eldridge scored twice while Ricciardi and Hamill added a goal apiece to account for the 14-4 final.

For Saint Joseph's, Eldridge tallied a hat trick with three goals, Meserve fulfilled the playmaker role with a goal and four assists, Hamill added two goals and a pair of helpers and O'Brien contributed a goal and an assist with three ground balls in his first collegiate  contest. Junior face-off specialist Ahmed Dorghoud (Alexandria, Va.) also played a vital role in the victory, winning 15 of 19 face-off attempts while collecting a game-high seven ground balls on the evening.

Senior goalkeeper Christopher Driscoll (Saco, Maine) was essentially untested in the triumph with just four stops for the hosts.

For Husson, Delgiudice scored twice and junior defender Mark Nardelli (Norwood, Mass.) scooped up a team-high seven ground balls. Senior goalkeeper John Hooper III (Wakefield, R.I.) made 13 saves in 56:54 between the pipes and suffered the loss while junior keeper Eric Lund (Mansfield, Mass.) did not face a shot in 3:06 of mop-up duty for the visitors.

For St. Joe's, the victory over Husson is the first in five tries versus the Eagles, a team that had outscored the Monks by a 38-12 margin combined over the last three meetings, including a 10-4 win last spring. Also, Saint Joseph's improves to 2-4 in season-openers with the victory.

The Monks are set to host Salem State University at Deering Memorial Stadium on Saturday at 1:00 PM while the Eagles host Anna Maria College next Wednesday at 4:00 PM.

Saint Joseph's College is Maine's only Catholic liberal arts college, providing a supportive, personalized and career-focused education for more than 100 years. From its 350-acre campus on the shores of Sebago Lake, the College offers more than 40 undergraduate programs to a population of approximately 1,000 students. Saint Joseph's College Online provides certificates, undergraduate and advanced degrees for working adults through an online learning program. For more, visit www.sjcme.edu.