PHILADELPHIA – Trailing by as many as five goals in the second half, the Saint Joseph's men's lacrosse team fell just short in its comeback bid as Sacred Heart edged the Hawks with a 12-11 win on Saturday afternoon on Sweeney Field.
HOW IT HAPPENED
- Trailing after the first minute of play, the Hawks struck twice through Mark Watters and Jesse Jason to earn an advantage midway through the first quarter.
- Sacred Heart rattled off four-consecutive goals over a 10-minute span before Ben Dutton earned his first collegiate goal with a man advantage.
- The Hawks looked to spark some momentum with a man-down goal from Michael Gaughan, but the visitors stamped it out with three goals to end the half to double up the Hawks at 8-4.
- The Pioneers struck first in the second half after eight minutes elapsed to take their largest lead of the game.
- Carter Truesdell dished to Trae Ika for his first of the game before Richie LaCalandra called his own number to cut the deficit to three heading into the final frame.
- A pair of goals from Watters and LaCalandra brought the Hawks within one with 12:42 to play.
- Sacred Heart matched St. Joe's, alternating strikes over the final 10 minutes to keep the Hawks from leveling the score.
- A goal and face-off win from the Pioneers with under two minutes remaining looked to seal the victory, but Jason sparked one last chance after finding the back of the net with 10 seconds to play.
- Sacred Heart earned its 17th face-off win off the afternoon to seal the 12-11 victory in the season opener.
GAME NOTES
- Mark Watters and Jesse Jason each added three goals in the season opener, Jason adding an assist for a team-high four points.
- Richie LaCalandra and Ben Dutton each scored in their Hawk debut.
- Levi Verch registered six ground balls and added two caused turnovers.
- Tommy Gross finished with seven saves in net, adding a pair of caused turnovers.
- Saint Joseph's held a 44-34 advantage in shots, including a 26-19 discrepancy in shots on goal.
- The Hawks' 10-man ride helped force 12 failed clears from Sacred Heart (16-28). St. Joe's finished the afternoon 18-20 in clear opportunities.
- The St. Joe's defense allowed just one goal on six man-advantage opportunities from Sacred Heart.
- SHU's Tucker Spencer finished with game-highs in goals (7) and points (8), while goalkeeper Alex Pazienza registered 15 saves in the win.
UP NEXT
The Hawks head to Durham, N.C. to take on #7 Duke on February 15. The matchup with the Blue Devils is slated for 12 p.m.
