Men's Lacrosse Tripped Up at Home, 14-11, Against Eastern Connecticut

WEST HARTFORD, Conn. – The University of Saint Joseph (USJ) men's lacrosse team fell at home to intrastate foes Eastern Connecticut State University (ECSU), 14-11, Wednesday afternoon on the USJ Lacrosse Field in West Hartford, Conn. The Warriors scored six goals in the fourth quarter to comeback and defeat the Blue Jays.

GAME INFORMATION
Score: ECSU 14, USJ 11
Records: ECSU 2-1, USJ 2-2
Location: USJ Lacrosse Field | West Hartford, Conn.

USJ got the offense going early, as Christian Decker (Bristol, Conn.) found the back of the net three minutes into the game, giving the hosts the early lead. Evan Baden (Burlington, Conn.) quickly doubled the advantage, creating space before rifling his shot into the net at the 11:38 mark. However, ECSU quickly levelled the score at 2-2 with 7:39 left in the first. Cam Fonseca (Saunderstown, R.I.) did not let the game remain tied for long, receiving a pass from Decker before giving the Blue Jays a 3-2 lead with 6:58 on the clock. The Warriors would equalize again, but Evan Zimnoch (Southing, Conn.) got on the end of an Erik Hendrickson (Glastonbury, Conn.) pass, firing his shot into the net and giving USJ a 4-3 lead entering the second quarter.

Fonseca would find the back of the net again early in the second quarter, increasing the lead to 5-3 after getting a pass from Decker. The game then went quiet, as both defenses kept the opposing offenses off the board until the 5:27 mark. Trey McCann (Simsbury, Conn.) would make excellent saves to preserve the lead, until the Warriors were able to get one past him, cutting the gap to 5-4. However, two back-to-back goals from Baden and Decker reestablished a three-goal lead for USJ, 7-4, with two minutes left in the half. The Warriors though would be the last team to score in the quarter, finding the back of the net with 1:31 left to play, sending the Blue Jays into the locker room up 7-5.

ECSU opened the scoring four seconds into the third quarter, but two straight USJ goals, including a man-up strike by Ryan Paltauf (Southbury, Conn.) increased the USJ advantage back to three, 9-6, with 8:03 on the clock. The Warriors would cut the gap to two, sandwiching a goal by Zimnoch to enter the fourth quarter trailing, 10-8. The fourth quarter was all ECSU, who scored six unanswered goals, keeping USJ off the board until Baden netted his hattrick with 1:49 left to play, taking home a 14-11 victory.

GOALIE BREAKDOWN

ECSU –Nick Collazo played every minute in goal for ECSU, tallying 15 saves to pick up the win. With the result his record on the year moves to 2-1.

USJ –McCann tallied 10 saves from 24 shots faced, playing all 60 minutes and earning the loss. With the result he moves to 2-2 on the season.

BATTLE AT THE 'X'

The Warriors held the edge at the faceoff "X", winning 18 of 27 faceoffs. Nick Pestrichello (Wethersfield, Conn.) paced USJ at the "X", winning eight of his 22 faceoffs.

UP NEXT
The Blue Jays wrap up a quick two-game homestand, welcoming Purchase College to West Hartford, Conn., on Saturday, March 12th. Start time against the Panthers is set for 12:00 p.m. on the USJ Lacrosse Field.

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