Men’s Lacrosse Claims Eighth Straight Win With 13-6 Victory vs. JWU

THE BASICS 

Score: 
Emmanuel 13 – Johnson & Wales 6

Records: 
Emmanuel College Saints (9-3, 7-0 GNAC)
Johnson & Wales University Wildcats (9-2, 4-1 GNAC)

Location: Boston, Mass. – Roberto Clemente Field

Date: Saturday, April 8, 2023

THE LEAD – The Emmanuel Saints and Johnson & Wales Wildcats men's lacrosse teams met Saturday afternoon for a battle at the top of the Great Northeast Athletic Conference, and after four quarters of play and another strong outing, the Saints won their eighth straight game while taking sole possession of first place in the GNAC standings, thanks to today's 13-6 win.

HOW IT HAPPENED

• In the opening half, each of the Wildcats two goals were answered by three consecutive for the Saints, leading EC to a comfortable advantage in the first half. After a scoreless opening nine minutes, Wildcats junior Brent Rickett (Portland, Maine) opened the scoring with his 16^th goal of the season, giving JWU a 1-0 lead.
• The Saints answered back quickly with two goals in 57 seconds as senior Ryan Castle (Boxford, Mass.) tied the game, and fellow senior Drew Chant (Warwick, R.I.) gave EC the lead, 2-1, a score that held through the first quarter.
• Saints first-year Cole Cloney (Medfield, Mass.) opened the scoring in the second quarter, just 58 seconds in, giving Emmanuel a 3-1 lead. The Wildcats pulled back to within one thanks to a quick response by sophomore Jackson Vecchio (Long Island, N.Y.), but EC capped off the second quarter with the final three goals, opening a 6-2 lead at halftime.
• Johnson & Wales scored back-to-back goals to kick off the third quarter, pulling within two at 6-4. The response from the Saints came in the form of a man-up goal for junior Thomas Quigley (Marblehead, Mass.) and Cloney, as EC held an 8-4 edge, heading to the final quarter.
• The Saints put more distance between themselves and the Wildcats to open the fourth quarter, as Quigley found the back of the net on another man-up chance while Ryan Castle netted his second of the afternoon, bumping the Emmanuel lead to 10-4.
• Rickett added another goal midway through the fourth quarter for JWU, but any thoughts of a comeback were quickly extinguished as three Emmanuel goals, one each for Cloney, Quigley, and senior Colin Dickinson (Barre, Vt.), in a 1:32 span, expanded the Saints lead to 13-5. Rickett added a consolation goal with 2:32 remaining, as the battle at the top of the GNAC favored Emmanuel in the 13-6 victory.

INSIDE THE NUMBERS

• Quigley finished the game with a team-high four goals, upping his season total to 22 on the season.
• Cloney added a hat trick in the victory as he now has 29 goals on the season, leading the team.
• Ryan Castle had a game-high five points on two goals and three assists. The senior attackman is up to 34 points on the season.
• Senior goalie Randy Castle (Boxford, Mass.) continued his stellar play, making 19 saves on the afternoon and improving to 9-1 (7-0 GNAC) following the win.
• Rickett matched the game-high with four goals, giving him 19 on the campaign.
• Vecchio added two assists to go with his second quarter goal. The three-point night gives Vecchio a dozen points on the year.
• Sophomore goalie Trent Madigan (Ayer, Mass.) made 13 stops in the Wildcats goal as the defeat drops him to 8-2 (4-1 GNAC) this year.

UP NEXT

• The Saints return to play on Tuesday, April 11, as they wrap up the last of a four-game homestand with Emerson College coming to Clemente Field for a 7:00 p.m. faceoff.
• The Wildcats also return on Tuesday, April 11, hosting Dean for a GNAC game at 7:00 p.m.