Men's Lacrosse Dominates Purchase College, 25-3, to Open 2024 Campaign

PURCHASE, N.Y. - The University of Saint Joseph (USJ) men's lacrosse team opened the 2024 regular season in dominating fashion, taking down the Purchase College Panthers, 25-3, Saturday morning in Purchase, N.Y. The 25 goals for USJ are the most scored in a single-game in program history. With the result, the Blue Jays open the year at 1-0 overall, while the Panthers begin their season 0-1.

KEY MOMENTS 

• USJ wasted little time finding the back of the net, as senior attack Evan Baden (Burlington, Conn.) and junior midfielder Christian Decker (Bristol, Conn.) gave USJ a quick 2-0 lead inside the opening minute and a half.
• The Blue Jays continued to roll, increasing the lead to 6-0 with 3:31 on the clock after a goal from Decker, two from junior attack Evan Zimnoch (Southington, Conn.) and one from sophomore midfielder Nick Pestrichello (Newington, Conn.).
• Purchase was able to put an end to the Blue Jays scoring run, finding the back of the net twice, but USJ responded with goals from Pestrichello, followed by Zimnoch's hattrick securing goal with three seconds left, to take an 8-2 lead into the second.
• The second quarter proved to be all USJ as Baden increased the lead to 9-2, while Pestrichello rounded out his hattrick with a strike at the 6:20 mark, increasing the lead to 10-2.
• Senior midfielder Sam Barbetti (Guilford, Conn.) kept the Blue Jays scoring run alive, finding the back of the net at the 5:12 mark, while Baden completed his hattrick with a goal at the 3:37 mark, increasing the edge to 12-2.
• Freshman midfielder Mike Decker (Bristol, Conn.) would score his first career goal with 3:13 remaining, before Barbetti netted his second of the day, sending the Blue Jays into the half with a 14-2 advantage.
• USJ continued to dominate on both ends of the field in the third quarter, utilizing goals from sophomore attack Freeman Johnson (Swnazey, N.H.), senior attack Ryan Paltauf (Southbury, Conn.), Barbetti, Zimnoch, and junior attack Cole Primo (Berlin, Conn.) to increase the Blue Jays lead to 20-2 heading into the fourth quarter.
• The fourth proved to be much like the rest of the quarters, as junior Luke von Borstel (Massenna, N.Y.) found the back of the net followed by freshman attack JD DeNicola-Rakvin (Staten Island, N.Y.) scoring his first career goal, increasing the USJ lead to 22-2 with 11:48 left to play.
• Mike Decker and DeNicola-Rakvin continued the offensive onslaught, increasing the USJ lead to 25-2 with 3:41 left to play.
• Purchase were able to score late, but the deficit was too great as USJ took home a commanding 25-3 victory.

NOTES 

• Zimnoch paced the team with four goals.
• Pestrichello, Barbetti and Baden all netted hattricks.
• Paltauf finished with a team-high six points, scoring two goals and dishing out a team-best four assists.
• Pestrichello dished out two assists.
• Junior midfielder Garrett Lazor (Masuk, Conn.) and Pestrichello caused a team-best two turnovers each.
• Barbetti hauled in a team-best seven ground balls.
• Senior goalkeeper Trey McCann (Simsbury, Conn.) picked up the win, making two saves in 30:00 minutes of play.
• Junior netminder Nick Schilling (Brookfield, Conn.) made four saves in 23:22 minutes of action, while freshman Noah Isleib (Easton, Mass.) made his college debut, playing 6:38 minutes in-between the pipes.
• Von Borstel and freshman Benjamin Bausch (Holliston, Mass.) both went 6-of-8 at the faceoff "x".
• With the result, the Blue Jays move to 2-0 all-time against Purchase.

UP NEXT

The Blue Jays round out a two-game road trip to open the year, heading to crosstown foe the University of Hartford on Tuesday, February 27. Opening faceoff against the Hawks on Al-Marzook Field in West Hartford is slated for 3:30 p.m.

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