PHILADELPHIA – Junior attackman Mike Rastivo scored four goals and added six assists, while sophomore attackman Chris Blewitt tallied four goals and three assists of his own as the Saint Joseph's men's lacrosse team opened its campaign with a 15-5 rout of visiting VMI at Sweeney Field on Saturday.
Junior midfielder Kevin Reidinger also posted a hat trick and senior midfielder Kevin Forster added two goals of his own as Saint Joseph's won its first season opener since 2001.
"We are pleased with the outcome today," said head coach Taylor Wray. "I thought we got off to a good start, and that helped us to control the game."
Saint Joseph's (1-0) never trailed, as junior midfielder Ray Vandegrift opened the scoring 2:12 into the contest on a feed from Rastivo, who scored his first of the game just 14 seconds later to give the Hawks a 2-0 lead.
After VMI (0-1) cut the lead in half on a man-up goal by Wesley Sanders, the Hawks tallied the next five goals to open up a comfortable lead. Blewitt then scored, assisted on Rastivo's score, and scored again to make it a 5-1 lead after one quarter.
Reidinger scored consecutive goals to start the second quarter, pushing the margin to 7-1 with 9:20 remaining in the half. Dale Mattice tallied for the Keydets with seven minutes left in the quarter, but Forster and Rastivo closed out the half with goals two minutes apart to send the Hawks to the locker room with a 9-2 lead.
Forster lit the lamp again just 57 seconds into the third before Sanders made it a 10-3 game at the 13:19 mark. Blewitt restored the eight-goal lead just over a minute later with a man-up goal on a feed from sophomore attackman Kyle Cain, and finished off his hat trick with 7:57 left in the quarter on an assist from Rastivo. Reidinger then notched his third of the game two minutes later, also on a Rastivo helper, to put the Hawks ahead by double-digits at 13-3 after three quarters.
The teams traded goals in the fourth, with Rastivo netting his fifth and Cain his first for the Hawks. Tom Nofi scored for VMI in between, and John O'Donnell closed out the scoring for the Keydets with 5:24 to go in the game.
"The second half, we got away from some of the things that helped us build our lead and that was frustrating, but overall we're excited to be 1-0 and looking forward to getting better this week at practice," added Wray.
SJU enjoyed a massive advantage in faceoff percentage, taking 18 out of 23. Junior Mike Lanham was 17-of-22, while classmate Danny Manning won his lone face-off on the day. The Hawks outshot VMI 38-28 for the game, including a 25-10 advantage in the first half.
Junior goalkeeper T.J. Jones (1-0) made eight saves in 53:33 net for Saint Joseph's to earn the win while sophomore Pat Dallon recorded two stops in 6:27 of relief. Joe Riccadonna made 14 for the Keydets in defeat.
Saint Joseph's continues its four-game season-opening homestand on February 27 as Manhattan visits Sweeney Field. Game time between the Hawks and Jaspers is set for noon.
