PORTLAND, Maine – University of Southern Maine (5-3, 0-1 LEC) outlasted Saint Joseph's College (4-6, 1-1 GNAC), 9-6, in a non-conference men's lacrosse contest on a snowy Wednesday night at Fitzpatrick Stadium.
SJC HIGHLIGHTS
- Freshman Michael Finn (Quincy, Mass.) netted a pair of goals
- Sophomore Joe O'Reilly (Suffern, N.Y.) scored twice
- Senior Jake O'Brien (Andover, Mass.) tallied three assists
- Sophomore Liam Skinner (Irving, Texas) picked up a team-high five ground balls with a pair of caused turnovers
- Sophomore Matt Donnell (Watertown, Mass.) and freshman Tyler Retalic (Framingham, Mass.) both chipped in with a goal and four ground balls apiece
- Sophomore goalie Connor Trainor (Franklin, Mass.) made 13 saves in the setback
USM HIGHLIGHTS
- Sophomore Nate DelGiudice (Oakland, Maine) tallied three goals, two assists, and four ground balls
- Senior Austin Watts (Westbrook, Maine) contributed three goals with a pair of assists and four ground balls
- Junior Keegan Smith (West Gardiner, Maine) added a goal and three assists
- Freshman Josh Murphy (Readfield, Maine) scooped up a game-high 10 ground balls and won 15 of 18 face-off attempts
- Sophomore goalie Zach Bessette (Readfield, Maine) registered five stops in the victory
HOW IT HAPPENED
Southern Maine jumped out of the gates with four consecutive goals, as a Jaymz McStowe (Plymouth, Mass.) marker made it a 4-0 game with 3:56 left in the first quarter.
Trailing 6-1 midway through the second period, the Monks rattled off four consecutive goals, the last of which being a man-up marker by Finn to make it a 6-5 game with 5:46 remaining in the third frame.
The Huskies managed to snuff the Monks' momentum by scoring twice in the final 73 seconds of the third quarter and played keep-away in the fourth en route to the 9-6 triumph.
TEAM STATS
Southern Maine held advantages in shots (44-30), ground balls (31-21), and face-offs (15-3) and cleared successfully on 16 of 21 attempts. Saint Joseph's held an 8-7 caused turnovers edge and went 18-22 on clearing bids.
HISTORICALLY SPEAKING
With the loss, Saint Joseph's falls to 1-7 all-time versus Southern Maine, a team that defeated the Monks by a 10-1 margin in Gorham last spring. For the Monks, tonight's three-goal loss counts as the lowest losing margin in the eight-game series.
NEXT!
Both teams return to action Saturday, when Saint Joseph's hosts conference-rival Albertus Magnus College at Westerlea Way Field at 1:00 PM and Southern Maine plays host to Little East Conference foe UMass.-Dartmouth in a 1:00 PM start.
#GOMONKS
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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.
