PHILADELPHIA – The Hawks' defensive unit stifled the Blue Hens to just two second-half goals as the Saint Joseph's men's lacrosse team cruised past Delaware, 12-7, on Saturday afternoon on Sweeney Field. With the win, SJU closes the non-conference portion of its schedule with a 5-2 record, while Delaware drops to 3-6.
Junior attackman Mike Rastivo (3g, 1a) and sophomore attackman Chris Blewitt (3g) led the way on the offensive end, while senior midfielder Kevin Forster and redshirt sophomore midfielder Hayes McGinley added two goals and one assist each.
Junior goalkeeper T.J. Jones (5-2) made a season-high 14 saves in the full 60:00, including 10 in a second half where he allowed just two goals.
"It is great to get a home win here today," said head coach Taylor Wray. "Delaware is always a tough team. They are athletic and their players are talented. We knew that we had to scrap. To go from 6-5 at the half to a 12-7 victory, I thought we played great in the second half. In particular, I thought T.J. played great. He anchored us on the back end and helped us build the lead. Playing 60 minutes of lacrosse is what it takes to get wins. We're happy to be 5-2 heading into conference play with a huge match-up in Geneva next weekend."
Tied 5-5 with 3:55 to play in the second quarter, the Hawks scored four consecutive goals to jump ahead, 9-4, at the 2:20 mark of the third period. McGinley and Rastivo each scored a pair during the run.
Delaware responded with a goal with 1:19 to play in the third, but Blewitt (6:15) and Rastivo (4:55) teamed up late in the fourth quarter to extend SJU's lead out to five goals, 11-6.
After another Blue Hen score, Forster put away his 13th goal of the season with 1:18 to play, and that 12-7 score would stand as time expired.
For the game, Delaware held a 34-31 edge in shots and 29-17 advantage in ground balls. The Hawks held Delaware to 0-for-3 in extra man opportunities, while both team's won 11 of the game's 22 face-off opportunities.
Junior face-off specialist Mike Lanham went 11-of-21 from the X to go with a team-best three ground balls while junior defenseman Shane Taggert caused three turnovers for the Crimson and Gray.
SJU jumped out to a 4-2 lead after the first quarter on scores from sophomore attackman Kyle Cain, junior midfielder Kevin Reidinger, and two from Blewitt and extended its lead to three goals when Forster scored his first of the day at the 13:52 mark of the second quarter.
However, the Blue Hens strung together three goals, two from Andrew Romagnoli, to even the scoring, 5-5, with 3:55 to play in the first half.
Saint Joseph's opens Northeast Conference action at Hobart next Saturday, March 26. Opening face-off in Geneva, N.Y. is scheduled for noon.
GAME NOTES: The Saint Joseph's men's and women's lacrosse programs honored the memory of longtime Saint Joseph's men's lacrosse coach Pat Cullinan on Saturday afternoon. Both teams wore t-shirts in memory of Mr. Cullinan during warm-ups, and donations that will go toward the HEADstrong Foundation™ were collected during both games. The Cullinan family was in attendance and was honored between games.
