STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. – The Seahawks scored the first goal of the game to lead for 28 seconds, but the Hawks would go on to dominate on all ends of the field as the Saint Joseph's men's lacrosse squad earned a 17-5 win over Wagner in the 2021 Northeast Conference opener at Hameline Field on Monday afternoon. With their first win of the season after a challenging trio of non-conference opponents, the Hawks improve to 1-3 overall (1-0 NEC). The Seahawks drop to 0-3 overall (0-1 NEC).

Saint Joseph's outscored Wagner 8-2 in the first half, utilizing its offense for a six-goal first quarter and its defense to hold the Seahawks scoreless in the second quarter. The Hawks would then outscore the Seahawks 9-3 in the second half, which included a six-goal fourth quarter.

Moving from the starting midfield to starting attack for the first time on the season, Ryan Doran recorded a career-high seven points as the junior matched his single-game career-high total for goals (five) and added a pair of assists.

"We did a good job moving the ball against their zone and finding the open looks," said Doran after the victory. "It's great for us to get back in the win column and open NEC play on a positive note."

Sophomore attackman Matt Bohmer put away four goals for the second time in three games while sophomore attackman Mac McLaughlin added a multi-goal game for the first time since his collegiate debut against the Bonnies last spring.

In all, 15 different Hawks recorded at least a point in the win.

Junior face-off specialist Zach Cole went 16-of-21 (76.2 percent) from the X with a game-high 14 ground balls.

In his first career start between the pipes, senior goalkeeper Tucker Almany (1-0) made four saves vs. two goals allowed in the opening 30:00 to earn his first career victory in net.

"It felt good to get my first start, but more importantly, it was great to start conference play with a strong win," added Almany.

How It Happened
• Wagner got on the board first (Q1, 12:10), but SJU responded with three consecutive goals from Doran (Q1, 11:42), Bohmer (Q1, 10:07), and Doran again (Q1, 8:28) to take a 3-1 lead.

• The Seahawks responded (Q1, 6:32) to close their deficit to one, 3-2, but the Hawks tore off on a 7-0 run that spanned from the 6:11 mark of the first quarter to the 8:20 mark of the third to take a dominating 10-2 advantage; junior short stick defensive midfielder Cole Peters kicked off that 7-0 run with a behind-the-back goal (Q1, 6:11), assisted by Doran, before Bohmer (Q1, 3:45) and senior long stick midfielder Sean Voelkel (Q1, 2:02) closed the opening quarter. The Hawks scored twice in the second quarter on goals from Doran (3:49) and Bohmer (:57) before sophomore attackman Levi Anderson (10:26, assisted by Doran) and Doran (8:20) hit the back of the net to open the third.

• Wagner would score two of the game's next four goals (Q3, 5:02 and Q4, 11:52), but Doran (Q3, 3:12) and sophomore defenseman Alex Keener (Q4, 13:07) sandwiched a pair of SJU goals in between to keep the Seahawks at an eight-goal deficit.

• The Hawks then scored three quick goals from Bohmer (Q4, 11:06), McLaughlin (Q4, 10:59), and senior midfielder Shane Fable (Q4, 9:00) before McLaughlin (Q4, 4:53) and junior defenseman Timmy Phillips (Q4, 2:59) closed the scoring for the Crimson and Gray.

Behind the Box Score
• The Hawks outshot the Seahawks 52-27 (38-13 SOG) and scrapped for 50 ground balls compared to Wagner's 28; aside from junior face-off specialist Zach Cole's 14 ground balls, fifth-year long stick midfielder Liam Hare and Doran scooped four apiece while junior close defenseman Logan Blondell and senior long stick midfielder Sean Voelkel went for three apiece.
• Wagner earned six extra-man opportunities, and Saint Joseph's held the home team to 0-6 in man-up plays.
• Junior defenseman Timmy Phillips and sophomore defenseman Alex Keener scored their first collegiate goals.
• Sophomore defenseman Patrick Clemens and freshman long stick midfielder Travis Alderton dished out assists for their first collegiate points.
• Getting the start on close defense, Blondell earned the starting nod to make his collegiate debut after transferring in this season from Johns Hopkins.
• Sophomore goalkeeper Robbie Seeley, sophomore midfielder Justin Douenias, sophomore attackman Jake Engelke, and Alderton made their collegiate debuts while fifth-year midfielder Nate Patterson and sophomores Ryan Kemp, Colin Reich, Kevin Vandegrift, and Shawn Wolf made their season debuts.