PHILADELPHIA – This team is special.

Riding the momentum of an 11-8 win over #20 Delaware on Tuesday, the Saint Joseph's men's lacrosse squad handed Providence its first loss of the season with a 10-8 victory over the Friars on Sweeney Field on Saturday afternoon. With the win, the Hawks improve to 3-1 on the year while the Friars, who received votes in all three major polls entering this week, now stand at 3-1.

Sophomore face-off specialist Zach Cole continued to impress, going a blistering 19-of 22 (86.4 percent) from the X, which included an 11-of-12 first half and a 6-of-6 second quarter, with 16 ground balls.

"Zach was once again one of the most dominant players on the field," said head coach Taylor Wray following the game. "He continues to give us a possession advantage that allows our offense to get into the groove. He makes it very hard for the other team to get anything going."

"This is a huge momentum swing," added Cole of defeating #20 Delaware and Providence. "Penn State was a huge learning experience for us. We're going to take it one game at a time and work hard in practice."

Freshman attackman Matt Bohmer (4g on five shots, 1a) and redshirt freshman attackman Levi Anderson (3g, 1a) led SJU's offense while the defensive core of senior goalkeeper Mike Adler (3-1) and close defensemen Tyler Makar, Josh Bosher, and, in his first career start, Sean Voelkel held the Friars to eight goals on the afternoon and redshirt freshman defenseman Joe Burnham caused two key turnovers in the final minutes.

How It Happened
Q1 – Cole won the game's first three face-offs and the Hawks went up early, 3-0, by the 8:42 mark as L. Anderson (14:04, assisted by Bohmer), senior long stick midfielder Liam Hare (13:50), and Bohmer (8:42) scored for the Crimson and Gray. Providence scored twice to cut its deficit to one, 3-2, with 1:32 to play in the first.

Q2 – The Hawks opened the second quarter in the same fashion in which they opened the first - with three straight goals. The first started off of an Adler save (13:03), and following the clear on the other end, Bohmer scored his second (12:32), on a feed from junior midfielder Shane Fable. Following the ensuing face-off, won by Cole but soon turned over to the Friars, Bosher forced a Providence turnover to regain possession for the Hawks, and Bohmer completed his hat trick with his third of the day (11:17), assisted by junior attackman Matt Tufano. Adler would turn away two more Providence shots before L. Anderson scored (6:27) on a feed from redshirt sophomore midfielder Henry Berg, marking the Mount St. Mary's transfer's first SJU point. The Friars closed the second quarter in the same fashion in which they closed the first - with back-to-back goals - to close to within two, 6-4, at the halftime break.

Q3 – Saint Joseph's junior midfielder Austin Strazzulla (14:01) and Providence's John Hoffman (12:47) alternated goals before Bohmer put away his fourth of the day (12:13), assisted by L. Anderson, to put the Hawks back up by three, 8-5. L. Anderson put away his second of the day (7:41) to give the Hawks a four-goal edge, but the Friars tacked one on following an SJU turnover to close the third quarter at 9-6, in favor of the Crimson and Gray.

Q4 – Providence came out firing in the fourth quarter, but Adler made a pair of key saves (14:24, 12:31) to keep the Friars at a distance before Dan Axelson converted a man-up score (9:33) to bring the visitors to within two. The Hawks blasted off four shots over the next three minutes, but Providence's Ryan Nawrocki scored (4:56) to make it a one-goal game. From there, it was all about SJU's defense. Adler made his eighth save of the game a big one (3:53), and Burnham forced two turnovers (2:59, :33), the latter which led to possession (Burnham ground ball) and a security goal from junior midfielder Evan Campbell (:08).

Wray's Postgame Thoughts
"I am happy with the production we got from our freshman attackmen. Matt Bohmer and Levi Anderson are getting better with each game. Matt scored on four of five shots against an excellent Providence goalkeeper."

"I thought our defense did a good job defending what is a really tough Providence offense. Their first line midfielders are as good as gold, as we have seen, and I think we did a good job of limiting their productivity today."

"Jack Anderson has been an anchor at the short stick defensive midfield position. He is so physical on ball, and when he gets it in the clearing game, it's up and out. Zach Mantei has also really settled into that position. Andrew Chilson earned a lot of minutes as a freshman, and it is paying off this year. He is so much more confident and comfortable. I see our SSDM position as a real strength, and it's something that often gets overshadowed by other areas, but we have a tough and talented group there."

"Our seniors on the defensive end continue to lead the team. They are really stepping up for us and creating a sense of urgency, and I'm happy with how our junior class has grown up in terms of their leadership, as well. This was a very challenging week, three games in eight days, all against extremely tough opponents. I think our team learned a lot from the experience."

Up Next
Saint Joseph's heads to Monmouth (1-2) next Saturday, February 29. Opening face-off at Kessler Stadium in West Long Branch, N.J. is set for 1:00 p.m. Monmouth will play at Wagner on Tuesday before hosting the Hawks.

More to follow.