STANDISH, Maine – Saint Joseph's College (4-6, 2-1 GNAC) overcame a 9-8 deficit late in the third quarter by scoring five of the game's final six goals to defeat Lasell University (5-5, 3-1 GNAC), 13-10, in a hotly-contested Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) men's lacrosse contest at the SJC Athletics Complex on Tuesday afternoon.
For Saint Joseph's, the victory is the program's first-ever over Lasell, as the Monks entered today's action with an 0-10 all-time record versus the perennial conference contenders.
HOW IT HAPPENED:
Saint Joseph's held a 2-1 lead after the first quarter, as senior Xavier Michaud (Wales, Maine) scored twice in the last two minutes of the frame to lift his team to an early edge.
The second stanza was filled with action, as the teams combined to net 10 goals with the Monks scoring three straight in a five-minute span en route to securing a 7-6 advantage heading into intermission. The conference counterparts played through four tie scores and a pair of lead changes before Tim Goodfellow (Wayland, Mass.), David Cook (Upton, Mass.), and Will Levesque (Marlow, N.H.) helped the hosts enter the break with the one-goal lead.
The Lasers would not go down without a fight however, as the visitors opened the third quarter with goals from Nate Taggart (Scarborough, Maine) and Anthony DeRosa (Hudson, N.H.) to earn an 8-7 edge with 5:57 left in the penultimate period. Michaud and Lasell sophomore midfielder Adam Haytayan (Waltham, Mass.) swapped scores during the following 90 seconds as the Lasers maintained a one-goal edge.
The Monks proceeded to prove their mettle, as Goodfellow assisted on a Michaud man-up marker with 39 seconds left in the frame and scored what proved to be the game-winning goal as time expired in the third, making it a 10-9 game.
In the fourth quarter, SJC freshman Matt Denman (Brentwood, N.H.) and DeRosa found the back of the net as the hosts held an 11-10 edge with 8:18 remaining. The St. Joe's defense clamped down on the Lasell attack for the rest of the game while freshman Tiger Hopkins (Leeds, Maine) and Michaud both scored insurance goals for the Monks, who held on for the 13-10 triumph.
TEAM STATS:
The Monks held slight edges in shots (34-32), shots on goal (25-24), and caused turnovers (12-10) while the Lasers posted a 31-22 advantage in ground balls with a 19-7 lead in face-off victories.
THE KEEPERS:
SJC senior Brannon Gilbert (Gray, Maine) was excellent in the victory with 14 saves while his counterpart, Lasell sophomore Michael Catalano (Norwood, Mass.), made 12 stops in a losing effort.
LEADERS – SAINT JOSEPH'S:
- Michaud netted a game-high six goals on eight shots with an assist
- Goodfellow scored two goals with five assists
- Hopkins notched two goals and three assists
- Freshman Nick Wesley (Peabody, Mass.) picked up five ground balls
- Sophomore Anthony Samiotes (Hampstead, N.H.) added three ground balls and three caused turnovers
LEADERS – LASELL:
- DeRosa led the Lasers with three goals on three shots
- Grad student David Burke (Cohasset, Mass.) scored twice with four ground balls
- Sophomore Matthew Carbone (Needham, Mass.) won 17-of-24 face-off attempts and picked up 11 ground balls
- Senior Tyler Rose (Springfield, Mass.) added three ground balls and three caused turnovers
HISTORICALLY SPEAKING:
Saint Joseph's is now 1-10 all-time versus Lasell University – today's goal total is the most the Monks have scored against the Lasers in the 11-game history of the series. Prior to this afternoon, St. Joe's had never scored more than nine versus Lasell.
NEXT!
Saint Joseph's will play at Albertus Magnus College on Saturday at 2:30 PM.
