PORTLAND, ME – Saint Joseph's College (3-4, 2-0 GNAC) surged past Emmanuel College (2-4, 0-1 GNAC), 5-4, in a Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) men's lacrosse contest at Fitzpatrick Stadium on Thursday evening.

Emmanuel freshman Kaile MacLean-Daley (Moretown, Vt.) put the visitors on top with the game's first two goals, the latter coming at the 8:30 mark of the third quarter. Saint Joseph's rallied with four unanswered markers, including three from sophomore attackman Andrew Sullivan (Rochester, N.H.), to secure a 4-2 advantage and withstood the Saints' late scoring push to improve to 2-0 in conference play.

Sullivan played a hand in all five of the Monks' goals, netting four – including a pair of man-up markers – with an assist in the triumph. Sophomore attackman Max Meserve (Kennebunk, Maine) tallied a goal and two assists and junior Andrew Hamill (Wolfeboro, N.H.) added a helper in the one-goal victory.

In goal, senior keeper Christopher Driscoll (Saco, Maine) recorded 19 saves with three goals allowed and six ground balls in 52:36 of play and sophomore Ethan Rettew (Ephrata, Pa.) added three saves and yielded one goal in 7:24 between the pipes.

Freshman LSM Jeremy Sampsonis (Shrewsbury, Mass.) contributed six ground balls and four caused turnovers and junior midfielder Jake Ricciardi (Sharon, Mass.) registered three caused turnovers for Saint Joseph's.

For the Saints, MacLean-Daley scored twice off a game-high 10 shots while sophomore midfielder Ryan Sabuda (Indianapolis, Ind.) netted a man-up goal and second-year defender Andrew Lawson (Suffern, N.Y.) added a goal, four ground balls and three caused turnovers in the setback.

Sophomore goalkeeper Austin Lauzier (Bedford, N.H.) made 11 saves in a losing effort for the Saints.

MacLean-Daley kicked off the game-scoring with an even-up score off a Brian O'Regan (Milton, Mass.) feed with 3:20 remaining in the first quarter. The one-nil score stood until MacLean-Daley found the back of the cage off a C.J. Galdorisi (Northport, N.Y.) helper with 8:30 left in the third frame, ending a 24:50 scoreless span.

Sullivan finally put the Monks on the board with an unassisted man-up marker with 6:32 remaining in the third and added another power-play tally, this time off a Hamill pass, 3:21 later, knotting the game at 2-2 with 3:11 to go in the third quarter.

Meserve put the hosts ahead – to stay, as it played out – with his fourth goal of the season just 32 seconds later. Sullivan was credited with an assist on the play.

The sophomores swapped roles on the next goal, as Meserve assisted on a Sullivan marker to make it a 4-2 game with 9:25 left in regulation. Sabuda answered with a man-up score off a Jack Ruggiero (Manhasset, N.Y.) feed with 3:58 to play. Sullivan and Meserve hooked up for the second time in eight minutes, as the former posted his fourth tally of the night at the 1:28 mark – a goal that proved to be the game-winner.

Applying plenty of offensive pressure, the Saints made it a one-goal game yet again when Lawson added an unassisted goal with 30 seconds on the game clock. Emmanuel called a timeout after the goal was scored, but St. Joe's junior face-off specialist Ahmed Dorghoud (Alexandria, Va.) won the ensuing face-off as the Monks managed to maintain possession for the closing 30 seconds of play, sealing the 5-4 triumph.

With the win, Saint Joseph's improves to 2-0 in the history of the series with Emmanuel College. Tonight's contest ranks as the lowest scoring game (nine goals) in the six-year history of the SJC men's lacrosse program.

The Monks return to action this Saturday with a non-conference contest at University of Southern Maine in Gorham (1:00 PM). Emmanuel hosts GNAC-rival Norwich University on Sunday at Grellier Field on the Lasell College campus (12:00 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.