STANDISH, Maine - #4 Saint Joseph's will host #5 Dean College in a Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) Men's Lacrosse Tournament Quarterfinal on Friday at 7:30 PM. 

LIVE STATS l LIVE VIDEO l DIRECTIONS

SAINT JOSEPH'S INSIDER:

Saint Joseph's (10-7, 8-2 GNAC) will be hosting a GNAC postseason contest for the first time since 2019 when the third-seeded Monks fell to eventual GNAC Champion #6 Johnson & Wales, 11-8, in a quarterfinal on April 27th, 2019. After opening the 2023 season with an 0-5 record, the Monks proceeded to win 10 of their final 12 contests with the program's first-ever wins over Lasell, Norwich, Dean, and University of Saint Joseph during the impressive turnaround.

The Monks head into the tournament as the GNAC leader in goals (240), assists (158), goals per game (14.12), shots on goal (498), shots on goal percentage (66.0%), man-down goals (6), caused turnovers (253), and clear percentage (85.7%). The 2023 squad has already shattered the team single-season records for points (398), goals, assists, shots on goal, caused turnovers, and man-down goals.

St. Joe's is led offensively by freshman attack Tiger Hopkins (Leeds, Maine), who leads the conference in points (84) and assists (45) and ranks eighth in the GNAC in goals (39). Hopkins broke the Monks' single-season points record last week and is nearing the SJC season assists high-water mark.

Senior Xavier Michaud (Wales, Maine) broke the Monks' single-season goals record in the team's triumph at Regis College on Tuesday and ranks second in the conference with 52 tallies. Senior Max Lacy (Salisbury, N.H.) (23-9-32) and freshman Matt Denman (Brentwood, N.H.) 24-6-30) are also enjoying fine seasons.

In goal, SJC senior Brannon Gilbert (Gray, Maine) is having his best season with a 10.60 GAA and a 52.5% save percentage in 14 starts. He has allowed 123 goals with 136 saves in 696 total minutes in the cage this spring.

DEAN INSIDER:

Dean (9-5, 5-5 GNAC) defeated Norwich, 14-10, in the teams' regular season finale on Tuesday to clinch the #5 seed for the second consecutive season. After suffering narrow victories at the hands of Johnson & Wales (12-11 in OT) and Rivier (8-5), the Bulldogs recovered by winning their last two games to move up in the conference standings.

Dean leads the GNAC in fewest goals allowed (107) and ranks second in goals against average (7.73) and clear percentage (84.9%), and third in face-off percentage (58.1%) and goals per game (13.14).

The Bulldogs feature one of the best scoring duos in the GNAC, as juniors Diego Alvarez-Segee (Saugus, Mass.) and Alex Speirs (Old Lyme, Conn.) have combined to net 88 goals and 140 total points this spring. Alvarez-Segee leads the conference in goals (59) while Speirs ranks fifth in the league in assists (31).

Dean senior netminder James Rollins (Old Lyme, Conn.) has emerged as one of the top keepers in the conference as a first-year starter. He currently leads the GNAC in GAA (7.74) and ranks seventh in save percentage (54.7%).

LAST TIME WE MET:

Saint Joseph's edged Dean College, 11-10 in overtime, in Franklin, MA on March 18th. The Monks trailed 10-6 early in the fourth quarter and rallied with four strikes in the closing two minutes to force overtime, during which junior Tim Goodfellow (Wayland, Mass.) scored 1:21 into extra play to clinch the SJC victory.

RECENT TOURNEY HISTORY:

Last spring, #8 Saint Joseph's pushed top-seeded Norwich to the brink with a 14-12 setback in the opening round of the GNAC tourney.

As the #5 seed in the 2022 tourney, Dean fell to #4 Johnson & Wales by a 12-11 margin in overtime in a quarterfinal matchup last spring.

GNAC TOURNAMENT BRACKET RELEASE:

WINTHROP, Mass. – Emmanuel will be the No. 1 seed in the upcoming GNAC Men's Lacrosse Championship Tournament after completing a 9-1 GNAC season. The Saints carry a 12-5 overall record with them into the tournament and will be one of four quarterfinal hosts on Saturday, April 29.

The other three quarterfinal hosts are No. 2 seed Lasell (8-2 GNAC, 10-6 overall), No. 3 seed Rivier (8-2 GNAC, 12-3 overall), and No. 4 seed Saint Joseph's (Maine) (8-2 GNAC, 10-7 overall).

The top-seeded Saints draw No. 8 seed Norwich (4-6 GNAC, 6-11 overall) in the first round, while the second-seeded Lasers faceoff against No. 7 seed Johnson & Wales (R.I.) (5-5 GNAC, 10-6 overall). The Raiders will host No. 6 seed Saint Joseph (Conn.) (5-5 GNAC, 9-8 overall) and the Monks will host No. 5 seed Dean (5-5 GNAC, 9-5 overall) in the other two quarterfinals.

There were two three-way ties in the conference standings that required the league's tiebreaking procedure to break.

In the first three-way tie at 8-2 between Lasell, Rivier, and Saint Joseph's (Maine), all three teams had identical 1-1 head-to-head records offering no relief. However, the Lasers were the only team amongst the trio to defeat No. 1 seed Emmanuel, giving them the No. 2 seed. Rivier and SJC were then entered into a new tiebreaker with the Raiders earning the advantage thanks to a head-to-head victory over the Monks.

The other three-way tie was between Dean, Saint Joseph (Conn.), and Johnson & Wales with all three having 5-5 conference records. All three teams went 1-1 against each other head-to-head and had the same results against all other conference opponents meaning the third tiebreaker step was required. The next step in the protocol was goal-differential (capped at six) between the tied teams. Dean was granted the highest seed with its +5 goal differential. USJ then defeated JWU in the new tiebreaker thanks to a head-to-head win.

The four quarterfinal winners will advance to the GNAC Semifinals on Tuesday, May 2 with the winners of those matches earning the right to compete for the GNAC Championship and the league's automatic qualifier on Saturday, May 6.

There is no reseeding throughout the GNAC Tournament, with the league champion receiving the GNAC's automatic berth to the NCAA Tournament. 

Friday, April 28 - QUARTERFINALS