PLYMOUTH, N.H. – Plymouth State University (3-0) held off Saint Joseph's College (0-4), 10-9, in a hard-fought non-conference men's lacrosse game on Sunday afternoon.
HOW IT HAPPENED:
With the score tied 1-1 after the first quarter, the Panthers started the second frame with three unanswered tallies before Xavier Michaud (Wales, Maine) scored on a Max Lacy (Salisbury, N.H.) assist with 3:25 before the break.
The Monks' offense exploded for five goals in the third period, as senior Noah Tierney-Honan (Dracut, Mass.) scored a pair and freshman Tiger Hopkins (Leeds, Maine) hit pay dirt twice in a matter of two minutes to help the Royal Blue claim a 7-6 edge heading into the final frame.
Unfortunately for SJC, four different PSU players found the back of the net in a three-minute span early in the fourth quarter to lift the hosts to a 10-7 lead with 8:14 left. Hopkins and Tierney-Honan netted unassisted goals to make it a 10-9 game with 2:18 on the clock, but the Monks lost the ensuing face-off and did not regain possession until the Panthers committed a shot clock violation with 31 seconds remaining.
After a St. Joe's timeout at the 13-second mark, the Monks had one last chance to tie the game but were unable to convert.
TEAM STATS:
Plymouth State held the lead in shots (37-26), shots on goal (19-15), ground balls (39-26), and face-off wins (19-4).
THE KEEPERS:
SJC senior Brannon Gilbert (Gray, Maine) made nine saves in the loss while Plymouth State netminder Owen McNichols turned away 15 shots for the Panthers.
LEADERS – SAINT JOSEPH'S:
- Tierney-Honan netted four goals on seven shots
- Hopkins added three goals and an assist
- Junior Tim Goodfellow (Wayland, Mass.) tacked on a goal and an assist
- Lacy dealt a pair of assists
- Junior Devin Rheaume (Londonderry, N.H.) picked up five ground balls and two caused turnovers
- Sophomore Anthony Samiotes (Hampstead, N.H.) notched three ground balls and two caused turnovers
HISTORICALLY SPEAKING:
With the loss, Saint Joseph's falls to 0-4 in the history of the series with Plymouth State University – a team the Monks had not faced since 2014 prior to this afternoon's meeting.
NEXT!
Saint Joseph's will play at Colby College on Wednesday at 7:00 PM.