FAIRFIELD, Conn. – Mike Rastivo tallied a team-high five goals in a game that the Saint Joseph's men's lacrosse team led from the get-go en route to a 13-8 win at Sacred Heart on Saturday afternoon. Ryan McGee added four assists on the day for the Hawks.
With the win, the Hawks clinched the outright NEC regular season title for the second time in as many seasons in the conference. Additionally, the Hawks posted their second consecutive undefeated regular season since joining the NEC and are 12-0 all-time in regular-season NEC contests.
Rastivo started things off right away for Saint Joseph's (10-5 overall, 6-0 NEC), scoring an unassisted goal 56 seconds into the game for a 1-0 lead. Pat Swanick then doubled the lead just 39 seconds later on a feed from Kevin Forster.
After Reed Avveduti tallied for Sacred Heart, McGee set up Rastivo and Mike Dougherty for back-to-back goals to close out the first quarter with SJU on top, 4-1.
Anthony Joaquim upped the lead to four on an assist from Rastivo with 11:57 to play in the half before Ray Vandegrift made it 6-1 at the 8:18 mark. Matt Posch would get one back for the Pioneers with a man-up goal, but Chris Blewitt scored the final goal of the half on a pass from Connor Kubikowski to send the Hawks to the locker room with a 7-2 lead.
Brian Masi scored the first of his two goals on the day just over two minutes into the third quarter, but Saint Joseph's answered through Rastivo and a man-up goal from Robert Raucci to take a 9-3 lead halfway through the third.
The Pioneers would score back-to-back goals to get within four, but Rastivo converted on an EMO to make it a 10-5 game after three.
Masi struck again to start the fourth, but Rastivo and Swanick went back-to-back once again to extend the margin to 12-6 with 7:40 to play. Julian Garritano scored his second of the day for SHU 35 second later, but Blewitt answered with 5:54 to go before T.J. Fitzell closed out the scoring for the Pioneers.
T.J. Jones earned the win for the Hawks, making five saves, while Pat Dallon also saw action between the pipes for SJU. Jon Flood made nine saves in defeat for Sacred Heart.
The Hawks outshot the Pioneers on the day, 36-29, while enjoying a 14-9 advantage on face-offs. Mike Lanham led the way for SJU, taking 10 of 15 from the X, while Danny Manning was 4-of-8.
The tournament's top seed, Saint Joseph's will host fourth-seeded Mount St. Mary's on Thursday in the semifinals of the NEC Men's Lacrosse Championship at Sweeney Field. Hobart and Bryant will meet in the other semifinal; the championship game is set for Saturday, May 2.
