PHILADELPHIA – With the Hawks leading 14-13 with 44 seconds remaining in regulation and the ball in the Sharks' offensive end, Saint Joseph's graduate student defenseman Tyler Makar stifled LIU's Jake Gillis to force the turnover and SJU cleared en route to the Northeast Conference victory on Sweeney Field on Saturday afternoon.
 
"What an exciting game that was," beamed head coach Taylor Wray following the win. "I tip my hat to LIU. They are a terrific and well-coached team and play with tremendous grit."

Junior face-off specialist Zach Cole dominated with a 22-of-29 showing from the X and a game-high eight ground balls.

Sophomore attackman Matt Bohmer recorded a hat trick and a helper to lead nine different SJU goal scorers on the day. Senior midfielder Shane Fable (2g, 2a), and sophomore attackman Ryan Doran (1g, 3a) added four points apiece for an SJU offense that scored 14 goals, 11 of which were assisted. 

"We played team ball on offense and made some tremendous plays in transition," said Wray of the Hawks' offensive performance. "We had two goals from our second midfield line of [sophomore] Mac McLaughlin and [senior] Teo Domic, and four goals from that group if you include Shane Fable's. It was awesome to have Shane back out there; he played like a senior today."

Junior midfielder Matt Popeck also had a day for the Hawks, scoring back-to-back goals in the third quarter.

"Matt has been one of our most valuable players this year," said Wray of the junior who can play three positions. "He started the year down at close defense, he played against Bryant as a short stick defensive midfielder, and today he played as a long stick midfielder. For him to do what he has done from game-to-game and score two huge goals today is truly incredible."

LIU's Richie LaCalandra entered the game averaging an NEC-leading 3.75 goals per contest. Sophomore close defenseman Patrick Clemens held him to just one.

"Pat did a terrific job on LaCalandra," said Wray of Clemens, who also came up with the ground ball to secure possession for the Hawks at the end of the game. "He limited his chances today. You can't shut a player like that out, you just hope to limit his production. I thought Pat covered him well, and he is proving himself to be one of the best defensemen in the NEC. He has been great as a cover guy, he picks up tough and important ground balls every game, and he makes great decisions in the clearing game. He is playing at a very high level right now."

Senior goalkeeper Tucker Almany (7-0, 7-0 NEC) made six saves - five in the first half - in the full 60:00.

How It Happened
• Senior attackman Matt Tufano scored (Q1, 14:22) and then assisted on senior long stick midfielder Sean Voelkel's goal (Q1, 14:10) before LIU scored twice to tie it, 2-2, at the 7:21 mark of the opening quarter.

• McLaughlin (Q1, 6:33, assisted by Fable) and LIU's Sean Boll (Q1, 2:32) then alternated in scoring to close the first knotted, 3-3.

• The Sharks outscored the Hawks, 4-2, in the opening 7:18 of the second quarter to take a two-goal edge, 7-5; Bohmer (Q2, 14:54, assisted by Cole off the face-off win) and junior midfielder Tucker Brown (Q2, 12:20, assisted by junior midfielder Levi Anderson) scored for the Crimson and Gray.

• Domic scored his first of the year on a feed from Bohmer (Q2, 2:51) to send the Hawks into the halftime break down by just one, and SJU scored four consecutive goals to open the third quarter from Fable (Q3, 13:03), Bohmer (Q3, 11:53, assisted by Anderson), and back-to-back Doran-to-Popeck connections (Q3, 11:42, 11:35) to take a 10-7 lead.

• LIU's Jake Gillis scored twice (Q3, 8:35, 6:04) to bring the Sharks to within one, 10-9, but the Hawks scored three straight from Bohmer (Q3, 5:47, assisted by junior midfielder Adam Ritter), Tufano on the man-up (Q4, 14:46, assisted by Doran), and Doran (Q4, 12:27, assisted by Fable) to push SJU's lead out by four, 13-9. 

• The Sharks would not go away quietly, scoring three in a row to inch to within one, 13-12, with 6:05 to play, but an unassisted drive by Fable (Q4, 5:16) gave SJU two goals worth of breathing room heading into the final five minutes of regulation.

• LIU's Gillis scored his sixth of the game with 3:18 to play, but SJU's defense wouldn't allow a shot in the final minutes leading up to Makar's defensive heroics.

Senior Day
Prior to the start of the game, the Hawks honored their 12 seniors and five graduate students for their commitment and dedication to the Saint Joseph's men's lacrosse program over their careers on Hawk Hill. Recognized were seniors Tucker Almany, Jack Anderson, Henry Berg, Evan Campbell, Teo Domic, Shane Fable, Thomas Halm, Billy Jardeleza, Timmy Phillips, Austin Strazzulla, Matt Tufano, and Sean Voelkel and graduate students Josh Bosher, Liam Hare, Tyler Makar, Nate Patterson, and Jack Zullo.

"I couldn't be happier for our seniors to win at home on Senior Day," closed Wray. "To earn the right to play more games on Sweeney Field is an incredible reward. We love playing at home where we have the best game day environment in the country. We have won several close games in the league, and I constantly remind our team that the margin for error at this level is so small. We could easily be 4-3 right now. While we are thrilled to win, we are still striving for that perfect game, and we hope that happens a few times over the next couple weeks."