PHOTO COURTESY OF LAUREL CLACE '25
STANDISH, Maine – Saint Joseph's College (9-7, 7-2 GNAC) fought past Johnson & Wales University (10-5, 5-4 GNAC), 11-8, in an evenly matched Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) men's lacrosse contest at the SJC Athletics Complex on Friday evening.
HOW IT HAPPENED:
After five minutes of scoreless play, SJC senior Xavier Michaud (Wales, Maine) scored twice in a matter of 80 seconds to provide the Monks with a 2-0 lead at the 8:27 mark of the first quarter. JWU grad Joe McIntyre (Ballston Lake, N.Y.) and Michaud swapped scores before senior Noah Fye (Concord, N.H.) and sophomore Donny McInnis (North Haven, Conn.) hit pay dirt for the Wildcats to cap the first frame with the GNAC rivals knotted at 3-3.
Freshman Tiger Hopkins (Leeds, Maine) kicked off the second stanza scoring at the 12:08 mark with his 37th goal of the season, but Johnson & Wales junior Brent Rickett (Portland, Maine) netted a pair of tallies in a matter of 28 seconds to provide the visitors with a 5-4 edge and 10:31 before the break. SJC sophomore Will Levesque (Marlow, N.H.) and JWU senior Andrew Vasile (Milford, Mass.) followed by potting a goal apiece to close out the first half ledger with the Wildcats on top, 6-5.
Rickett increased the JWU advantage to 7-5 when he connected for his third goal of the game 3:23 into the third period. The Monks' offense started to click just a minute later, when Levesque opened a 3-0 scoring run that included goals from Michaud and Hopkins and put the hosts back on top, 8-7, with 6:04 to play in the third.
McIntyre tied the game once again when he notched a man-up marker with 2:21 left in the penultimate period, but the stalemate was short-lived as Levesque steered in his third tally of the night 1:35 later.
With the Monks' defense locking down the Wildcats' scorers, St. Joe's added a pair of insurance goals in the fourth frame, as senior Max Lacy (Salisbury, N.H.) and Levesque found the back of the net at the 14:36 and 7:19 marks, respectively, to close out the game scoring.
TEAM STATS:
Saint Joseph's held the lead in shots (37-31), shots on goal (26-19), and caused turnovers (15-14) while Johnson & Wales posted advantages in ground balls (34-29) and face-off wins (18-4) on the evening.
THE KEEPERS:
SJC senior starter Brannon Gilbert (Gray, Maine) turned away 11 shots and picked up a pair of ground balls to earn the victory while his counterpart, JWU sophomore Trent Madigan (Ayer, Mass.) registered 15 saves in a losing effort.
LEADERS – SAINT JOSEPH'S:
- Michaud scored four goals on six shots
- Levesque netted a career-high four goals on eight shots
- Hopkins tallied two goals, an assist, and two ground balls
- Lacy chipped in with a goal and a pair of ground balls
- Sophomore Anthony Samiotes (Hampstead, N.H.) picked up seven ground balls and two caused turnovers
- Freshman Kevin Wood (Danvers, Mass.) added three ground balls and six caused turnovers
- Senior Eli Arsenault (Saco, Maine) contributed with four ground balls and three caused turnovers
LEADERS – JOHNSON & WALES:
- Ricket tallied three goals on seven shots
- McIntyre netted a pair of goals with an assist
- Vaile added a goal and an assist
- Senior Mike Catuosco (Commack, N.Y.) was 18-22 on face-off attempts with 18 ground balls
- Senior Luis Quinones (Bronx, N.Y.) posted four caused turnovers
HISTORICALLY SPEAKING:
With the triumph, Saint Joseph's improves to 6-4 all-time versus Johnson & Wales University, a team that defeated the Monks by a 14-5 score last spring.
SENIOR MOMENT:
Prior to the start of the contest the SJC men's lacrosse program held a brief ceremony to honor the team's 12 seniors: Eli Arsenault (Saco, Maine), Zavier Balzano (Otisfield, Maine), Connor Bogdanski (Southington, Conn.), Dom Cronshaw (Strafford, N.H.), Michael Delaney, Jr. (Milford, Conn.), Brannon Gilbert (Gray, Maine), Nick Koufos (Loudon, N.H.), Max Lacy (Salisbury, N.H.), Sonny Marquis (Londonderry, N.H.), Xavier Michaud (Wales, Maine), Ethan Richard (Litchfield, Maine), and Noah Tierney-Honan (Dracut, Mass.). Parents and close family members were called to midfield for a photo opportunity and senior gifts were given to the players by the coaching staff.
NEXT!
Saint Joseph's closes out the 2023 regular season with a GNAC game at Regis College on Tuesday. Opening face-off is slated for 7:00 PM.
