Monks Ground Eagles, 7-1

Monks Ground Eagles, 7-1

PORTLAND, Maine – Saint Joseph's College (5-2, 2-0 GNAC) defeated Husson University (2-3, 1-0 NAC), 7-1, in a non-conference men's lacrosse contest at Deering Memorial Stadium on Wednesday afternoon. Senior goalie Ethan Rettew (Ephrata, Pa.) made 13 saves in the victory, which extended the Monks' winning streak to a program-record five games.

Saint Joseph's held a slim 1-0 lead heading into intermission and proceeded to put the game out of reach with six goals in the third and fourth quarters combined, an offensive effort led by junior Jake O'Brien (Andover, Mass.), who netted four goals during the scoring stretch.

With offensive chances at a premium in the early going, senior midfielder Dalton Eldridge (South Gardiner, Maine) broke a scoreless deadlock with an unassisted marker at the 4:59 of the first quarter.

Senior midfielder Brandon Boutin (Hackettstown, N.J.) set up the Monks' second and third goals, as O'Brien kicked off the third-quarter scoring with his first goal of the day at the 11:30 mark and freshman Patrick Hills (Colchester, Conn.) less than three minutes later.

The Eagles finally got on the board with 5:54 left in the third quarter when freshman midfielder Zack Glazier (Winthrop, Maine) beat Rettew with a shot off a Brett Martin (Topsham, Maine) pass to cut the visitors' deficit down to 3-1.

The Monks went on to score four unanswered goals, including three off the crosse of O'Brien. The junior countered the Glazier goal with 1:47 left in the third and netted a pair of markers in a matter of five minutes in the fourth. Eldridge assisted on the first, scored at the 12:06 mark, and Hills was credited with a helper on the second, which made it a 6-1 game with 7:55 remaining.

Freshman attack Brendan Barrett (East Sandwich, Mass.) capped the game scoring with his eighth goal of the season, an unassisted tally with 5:27 left.

Husson had a prime opportunity to gain some momentum when the Monks committed a pair of penalties simultaneously midway through the fourth frame, but Saint Joseph's – which featured the 20th ranked man-down defense (.824) in NCAA DIII last spring – stifled the Eagles, allowing just a pair of shots during the 30-second span.

O'Brien paced the SJC offense with four goals, a career-high, while Eldridge and Hills added a goal and an assist apiece in the victory. Rettew picked up a team-high four ground balls while senior defender Colby Main (Jericho, Vt.) added three ground balls and three caused turnovers and freshman Liam Skinner (Irving, Texas) totaled three ground balls and a pair of caused turnovers on the afternoon.

For the Eagles, senior LSM James Seager (Gilford, N.H.) collected five ground balls and three caused turnovers, Glazier picked up five ground balls, and freshman midfielder Nicholas Innetti (Rutland, Vt.) won eight of 11 face-off attempts in the loss.

Husson sophomore goalie Tom Lepage (Lewiston, Maine) made nine saves in a losing effort.

With the victory, Saint Joseph's improves to 3-4 all-time versus Husson University and has now defeated the Eagles in three-consecutive meetings dating back to the 2013 campaign.

Prior to this afternoon, the Monks had not allowed just one goal in a game since the Royal Blue defeated Maine-Farmington by a 15-1 score on March 23rd, 2011. Today's combined goals total is the lowest tally ever posted in an SJC victory.

Saint Joseph's returns to action Saturday with a Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) game at Mount Ida College in a 1:00 PM start. Husson hosts North Atlantic Conference (NAC) rival Lyndon State College Saturday at 2:00 PM.

 

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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 474-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.