Saints Post First NCAA Tourney Victory Topping Maine Maritime 12-7

CASTINE, Maine. – A dominant first half performance fueled the Emmanuel College men's lacrosse program to their first-ever NCAA tournament victory Wednesday afternoon as the Saints topped Maine Maritime Academy, 12-7, to advance in the tourney field.  

THE BASICS 

Score: 
Emmanuel College, 12 vs. Maine Maritime Academy, 7

Records: 
Emmanuel Saints (16-5, 9-1 GNAC)
Maine Maritime Academy Mariners (14-4, 8-0 NAC)

Location: Castine, Maine. – Richie Field

Date: Wednesday, May 10, 2023

HOW IT HAPPENED

• Emmanuel dominated the opening 30 minutes of play, taking a 9-1 lead into halftime in an all-around team effort.
• The Saints jumped out to a quick 2-0 lead on scores by junior Robert Favuzza (Saugus, Mass.) and senior Ryan Castle (Boxford, Mass.) before MMA first year Jacob Hintermaier (Macon, Georgia) got the Mariners on the board with 8:23 to play in the first quarter to make it a 2-1 game.
• Following the Hintermaier goal, Emmanuel rattled off seven unanswered scores to take control of the action. Castle, first year Ryan Etzo (Bedford, N.H.) and senior Colin Dickinson (Barre, Vt.) found of the back of the net over the final seven minutes of the first to give the Saints a 5-1 edge after one.
• The second quarter was all Emmanuel as the Saints held the Mariners offense scoreless, padding the lead to 9-1 on scores from first year Cole Cloney (Medfield, Mass.), junior Thomas Quigley (Marblehead, Mass.), junior Aiden Sullivan (Burlington, Conn.) and senior Drew Chant (Warwick, R.I.).
• The Saints outshot the Mariners by a 38-14 margin at the half and were almost perfect on their clear attempts going 21-for-22 before the break.
• MMA responded with a strong third quarter to keep the game from getting away, outscoring EC in the stanza by a 4-2 margin to cut the lead to 11-5. The Saints got goals from Castle and Dickinson but MMA graduate student Jayden Wilson (Lewiston, Maine) put his offensive prowess on display with two goals and an assist in the quarter.
• Wilson came out firing in the fourth with back-to-back scores to pull the Mariners within four at 11-7 with 5:07 to play but Favuzza sealed the win with his second marker of the game with 3:47 to play to give the Saints the 12-7 advantage which was enough for the "W".

INSIDE THE NUMBERS

• EC senior goalie Randy Castle (Boxford, Mass.) registered the win in net with 16 saves to earn his 16^th victory of the year, a new EC single-season record both for the program and for goalkeepers.
• Ry. Castle finished with a game-high five points on three goals and two assists, pulling even with Cloney on the year for the team and program single-season lead in goals at 53.
• Wilson finished with five points as well with a game-high four goals and one assist for MMA to cap his final season with a remarkable 112 points on 71 goals and 41 assists, giving him 269 points on his MMA career.
• Junior Garrett Ruszkowski (Saugus, Mass.) suffered the setback despite a 21-save outing in goal, a season-high.
• The Saints doubled up the Mariners in shots in the win at 64-32 and held MMA to just 1-for-8 on extra-man opportunities.
• EC also owned the faceoff circle, winning 15-of-22 restarts including 12 from junior Nolan Bosse (Abington, Mass.) and a perfect 3-for-3 by first year Ty Carroll (Haverhill, Mass.).
• Emmanuel held the Mariners to under eight goals for just the second time all season, shutting down an offense that was averaging 19.71 goals per game, the third highest in the nation.
• The game was the 100th coaching decision for EC Head Coach Trevor Craven. 

UP NEXT

• The Saints advance to the next round of the NCAA tournament and will take on Tufts University on Saturday, May 13 in Medford, Mass. at Bello Field with the first faceoff scheduled for 12:00 PM. The Jumbos are currently ranked No. 1 in the United States Intercollegiate Lacrosse Association (USILA) National Poll with a perfect 18-0 record entering the NCAA tournament.  

POSTGAME INTERVIEW