PHILADELPHIA – The Saint Joseph's men's lacrosse squad jumped out to an 11-2 halftime lead to cruise to an 18-8 road win over Monmouth at Monmouth Stadium on Saturday afternoon. With the win, the Crimson and Gray improves to 4-2 while Monmouth falls to 3-2.

Junior attackman Mike Rastivo led all scorers with four goals while redshirt sophomore midfielder Hayes McGinley (3g, 1a) and senior midfielder Kevin Forster (3g) added hat tricks. Seven of SJU's starters and 13 Hawks in all registered at least one point in the victory.

Tied 1-1 at the 7:59 mark of the first period, SJU tore off for 10 consecutive goals to race out to an 11-1 lead with 7:54 to play in the first half. Seven different Hawks scored during that run, led by McGinley's three scores and a pair from junior midfielder Kevin Reidinger.

Monmouth's Chris Daly scored with 1:01 left on the scoreboard to close the home Hawks' deficit to nine goals, 11-2, heading into the halftime break.

Third-period scoring stood even at 4-4 as SJU was paced by two goals apiece from Rastivo and Forster to own a 15-6 lead entering the final 15:00.

Senior attackman Pat Swanick scored just 41 seconds into the final period on a feed from McGinley to extend the Hawks' lead back out to 10, 16-6.

Both squads would add on two more scores each in the final 4:28 as the eventual 18-8 score would stand as time expired.

For the game, Saint Joseph's owned a 41-25 advantage in shots, including a 26-7 first-half advantage. SJU also earned a 27-17 edge in ground balls and won 19 of the game's 28 face-off possessions. The Crimson and Gray went a perfect 10-for-10 in clear attempts and held Monmouth to just 2-of-6 in EMOs.

Junior face-off specialist Mike Lanham matched a career-best 17 wins in 24 opportunities from the X and added a game-high nine ground balls. Freshman Daniel Lanham went 2-of-4 from the circle.

Senior goalkeeper T.J. Jones (4-2) made four saves and allowed six goals in 50:11 for the victory. Sophomore Pat Dallon saw 4:24 while freshman Niklas Hedengren saw the final 5:25 in his collegiate debut.

Saint Joseph's returns home to face Delaware next Saturday, March 19. Opening face-off is scheduled for 3:00 p.m. on Sweeney Field.