April 8, 2006

LEXINGTON, VA - Junior Mike O'Neill continued his impressive play scoring four goals and sophomore Steve Varga added three as Saint Joseph's (3-8, 2-2 MAAC) pulled away with a big run in the third period to defeat VMI (1-7/0-4 MAAC) in Metro Atlantic Athletic Lacrosse League action at Patchin Field, 11-8.

The Keydets opened the scoring just 2:30 in the game, but the Hawks quickly answered with three-straight goals in a three-minute span to take a 3-1 lead. Senior Andrew Four netted the first SJU goal and Varga and O'Neill followed with the next two.

After VMI sliced the lead to 3-2, the Crimson and Gray ran off three more goals, two by O'Neill and one by senior Keegan Wilkinson to build a 6-2 lead midway through the second quarter.

Answering SJU's spurt, the Keydets stormed back with three succesive goals before intermission to get within one at the break, 6-5.

The Hawks took advantage of several costly turnovers by the Keydets and scored the first three goals of the third period to seize a 9-5 lead. Four, Varga and O'Neill were again the culprits for SJU.

WIth SJU up 9-6 after three quarters, VMI made one last push to get within two, but a late goal by Steve O'Brien sealed the win for Saint Joseph's.

Hawks' goalie Eric Hotaling picked up his third victory of the season with nine saves between the pipes. VMI's John Collier made his second consecutive start in goal, and also collected nine saves.

The Keydets won the ground ball war on the day, posting a 41-30 edge in the game. The Hawks, however, outshot VMI 36-27.