MLAX Season Concludes In GNAC Quarterfinal At Lasell Saturday

NEWTON, Mass. – The seven-seeded University of Saint Joseph (USJ) men's lacrosse team turned heads Saturday taking a 3-0 first-quarter lead, but ran out of steam down the stretch, falling 13-6 to the No. 2 Lasers of Lasell University (LU), in a Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) quarterfinal road match, held on Grellier Field. With the loss, the 2022 season has come to an end for men's lacrosse, which finished with a program record seven wins including four in the GNAC, as well as its second playoff appearance (and second straight) in the team's three-season history.

GAME INFORMATION
Score: #7 Saint Joseph 6, #2 Lasell 13
Records: USJ (7-10), LU (11-6)
Location: Grellier Field | Newton, Mass.
Notes: GNAC Quarterfinal

The Blue Jays played with grit Saturday as senior attack Matt Guerin (East Longmeadow, Mass.) registered three of USJ's six goals on the day, all in the first half. He added an assist for a team-high four points. A trio of Blue Jays had a goal each – junior middie Evan Baden (Burlington, Conn.), graduate student midfielder Joseph Boland (Rhinebeck, N.Y.), and senior defender and captain Benjamin Lenzner (Westerly, R.I.). Sophomore attackman Ryan Paltauf (Southbury, Conn.) added a game-high three assists.  

The Lasers found scoring from seven players including senior attackman James Anderson (Medway, Mass.) and senior middie Jordan Hines (Essex Junction, Vt.), who had three goals a piece (Anderson had two assists for a game-high seven points).

USJ came out firing on all cylinders with the first three scores of the contest, two coming at even strength from Guerin, who was playing his heart out from the opening faceoff. The experience and depth of the Lasers was on full display in quarter number two, flipping the script and scoring five unanswered to regain the advantage, 5-3. Like the Blue Jays of late though, they have found a way to score in late-quarter situations to trim the gap. Guerin provided his third strike of the event with just 18 seconds on the timer to cut the halftime deficit to one at 5-4.

It was anybody's game to start the second half, as both teams played to an even third period with two goals each. The stage was set for a thrilling fourth quarter in a one-score game to punch a ticket to the GNAC Semifinals. Lasell, knowing what was at stake (a team with only one GNAC loss all season), ramped things up dramatically scoring six unanswered in the final frame to pull away for good. USJ showed nothing but pride pushing the higher-seeded Lasers to the limit.

COACH QUOTE [Andrew Fink]
"I am so proud of this team. All I asked for was effort and attitude in a game like this. That's what they gave. They left it on the field and gave everything they had. We will come back stronger next season."

GOALIE BREAKDOWN

USJ – Junior goalie and captain Trey McCann (Simsbury, Conn.) finished 2022 with a 6-9 mark, and had nine saves Saturday. He allowed 11 goals in over 56 minutes of play between the pipes. Graduate student stopper Joseph Varagnolo (Centereach, N.Y.) played just over three minutes of action in his final career game, making a pair of saves.  

LU – Senior goalkeeper Alex Beauchemin (Westfield, Mass.) was critical for the Lasers making a game-high 15 saves on the day to lead the hosts to victory. He moved to 11-5 overall on the season and allowed six goals in a full 60 minutes in the cage.

BATTLE AT THE 'X'

Faceoffs leaned toward Lasell, as the Lasers held a 14-8 advantage overall. Freshman faceoff Luke von Borstel (Massena, N.Y.) was the high-man for Saint Joseph with six of the team's eight successful faceoffs.

UP NEXT
The season has come to an end for USJ Men's Lacrosse, which finished its third season in program history with a 7-10 record including 4-6 in the conference, both are a best in team history. The Blue Jays also made the GNAC Tournament for the second time. McCann registered his 300th career save as a junior, while Paltauf set the bar even higher with a program record 57 assists. That's nearly as many as the rest of the team combined (60). Head on over to usjbluejays.com to keep an eye on the lacrosse team ahead of the 2023 season!

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