Men’s Lacrosse Scores First GNAC Title Since 2016 in 16-8 Win vs. USJ

BOSTON - The Emmanuel Saints men’s lacrosse team scored nine consecutive goals spanning 14:43 between the second and third quarters, taking control of Saturday’s Great Northeast Athletic Conference Championship Game and claiming their first GNAC Title since 2016 with a 16-8 victory over the USJ Blue Jays at Clemente Field.

Men’s Lacrosse Scores First GNAC Title Since 2016 in 16-8 Win vs. USJ
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Team Stats

May 6, 2023

THE BASICS 

Score: 
Emmanuel 16 – University of Saint Joseph 8

Records: 
Emmanuel College Saints (15-5)
University of Saint Joseph Blue Jays (11-9)

Location: Boston, Mass. – Roberto Clemente Field

Date: Saturday, May 6, 2023

THE LEAD – The Emmanuel Saints men's lacrosse team scored nine consecutive goals spanning 14:43 between the second and third quarters, taking control of Saturday's Great Northeast Athletic Conference Championship Game and claiming their first GNAC Title since 2016 with a 16-8 victory over the USJ Blue Jays at Clemente Field.

HOW IT HAPPENED

  • After a tight first quarter that saw the teams tied up at 2-2, Blue Jays senior Evan Baden (Burlington, Conn.) scored his first goal of the afternoon, giving USJ a 3-2 lead, an advantage that would stand as their last lead of the afternoon.
  • The Saints nine-goal run started with senior Drew Chant (Warwick, R.I.) finding a pocket of space to tie the game at 3-3 with 9:20 left in the second quarter. Junior Thomas Quigley (Marblehead, Mass.) provided the next goal, a man-up tally that gave EC a 4-3 edge. Sophomore Ryan Etzo (Bedford, N.H.) joined in with his first of the day, as Emmanuel scored the trio of goals in a 2:01 span, taking a 5-3 lead.
  • Another three-goal outburst ensured for the Saints, this time with under one minute remaining in the half. Senior Ryan Castle (Boxford, Mass.) scored with 42 seconds remaining, followed by senior Derek DelVecchio (Saugus, Mass.) scoring a behind-the-back goal with 16 seconds left.
  • The scoring continued to the final seconds with first-year Ty Carroll (Haverhill, Mass.) winning the faceoff following DelVecchio's goal, taking it straight to the crease, and netting just his second of the season with nine seconds left in the half. The run of goals in just 33 seconds resulted in an 8-3 advantage for the Saints at halftime.
  • Three more goals finished the eventual 9-0 run for the Saints with first-year Cole Cloney (Medfield, Mass.) scoring 20 seconds into the half. Quigley and Chant soon followed, boosting the Emmanuel lead to 11-3.
  • Blue Jays sophomore Christian Decker (Bristol, Conn.) finally broke the run for USJ, scoring his first of the afternoon, cutting the deficit to 11-4.
  • The Saints and Blue Jays traded goals through the end of the third and beginning of the fourth, leading to Emmanuel holding a 15-5 edge. USJ made a late run with two goals by first-year Nick Pestrichello (Wethersfield, Conn.) and Decker, getting only as close as seven, 15-8, with 2:18 remaining.
  • Saints senior Micah Schlabach (South Royalton, Vt.) added one final tally for Emmanuel, capping the scoring for the game with 1:32 remaining, as the Saints claimed a 16-8 win and the GNAC bid for the NCAA Tournament.

INSIDE THE NUMBERS

  • Quigley led the Saints with four goals to go along with one assist. His third quarter helper on a Chant goal gives him the program record for most single-season assists with 29.
  • Cloney and Chant each finished with a hat trick of three goals. Cloney added two caused turnovers while Chant had one assist, coming on a Cloney goal.
  • Faceoffs proved pivotal for the Saints on the day, as the combination of Carroll and junior Nolan Bosse (Abington, Mass.) finished 15-for-27 on the day.
  • Senior goalie Randy Castle (Boxford, Mass.) made 13 stops for the Saints, improving to 15-3 with the victory. Randy Castle joins Austin Lauzier ('15) as the only Saints to record 15-win seasons.
  • Pestrichello finished the day with a team-best four goals to go along with five ground balls and a caused turnover. In addition, the first-year midfielder was 5-for-6 on faceoffs.
  • Baden and Decker each added two tallies for USJ. Baden scored a fourth quarter man-up goal to start the scoring in the final frame.
  • Senior goalie Trey McCann (Simsbury, Conn.) had 18 saves in the Blue Jays goal, but falls to 10-9 to finish the season.

UP NEXT

  • The Saints await the NCAA Selection Show to see their opponent for the Opening Round of the NCAA Division III Men's Lacrosse Championship. The Selection Show can be seen tomorrow night, May 7, at 9:00 p.m., exclusively on NCAA.com.

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