Fink Picks Up 200th Career Win, Blue Jays Roll Past SJU, 17-4

PATCHOGUE, N.Y. - The University of Saint Joseph (USJ) men's lacrosse team continued its strong start to the year, winning its third consecutive game after defeating Saint Joseph's University Long Island (SJU), 17-4, Saturday afternoon at Danzi Stadium in Patchogue, N.Y. With the victory, head coach Andrew Fink secured his 200^th career win. Senior attack Ryan Paltauf (Southbury, Conn.) had a career-day, dishing out a game-high nine assists. With the result the Blue Jays move to 4-1 overall on the year, while the Golden Eagles drop to 0-2 on the young season.

KEY MOMENTS 

• After a back-and-forth opening the game that saw neither team find the back of the net, junior midfielder Christian Decker (Bristol, Conn.) broke open the scoring, receiving a pass and rifling his shot into the upper right corner to establish a 1-0 USJ edge at the 7:03 mark.
• USJ gained momentum after the opening goal, taking advantage of a man-up chance as Paltauf found junior attack Evan Zimnoch (Southington, Conn.), who fired his shot into the net, increasing the led to 2-0 with 5:34 on the clock.
• The Blue Jays added a third with 2:38 left in the first when sophomore midfielder Nick Pestrichello (Newington, Conn.) beat his defender and launched his shot past the SJU goalie, increasing the lead to 3-0.
• Decker would net his second of the game moments later, as his solo strike with a man-up advantage, extended USJ's lead to 4-0 after the first quarter.
• USJ continued to pepper the night to open the second, as two quick fire goals from freshman midfielder Brendan Tedeschi (Orange, Vt.) and junior attack Cole Primo (Berlin, Conn.) saw the Blue Jays hold a 6-0 lead at the 10:36 mark.
• The Golden Eagles put an end to the scoring run, netting their first goal of the game at the 8:49 mark, but Zimnoch reestablished a six-goal lead, 7-1, finding the back of the net with 6:00 on the clock.
• SJU closed the gap back to five, 7-2, with 12 seconds remaining, as the Blue Jays entered the halftime break with the lead.
• The Blue Jays struck first in the third quarter, as Decker rounded out his hattrick at the 13:42 mark, before Zimnoch also completed his hattrick, increasing the lead to 9-2. Both goals were assisted by Paltauf, increasing his tally to seven on the day.
• The Golden Eagles were able to cut the gap to 9-3, but Decker netted his fourth of the day, as his solo strike saw the visitors hold a 10-3 lead entering the fourth.
• Paltauf continued his stellar passing performance, finding an open junior midfielder Luke von Borstel (Massenna, N.Y.), who fired a shot into the net, increasing the gap to 11-3 with 14:19 left to play.
• Senior midfielder Sam Barbetti (Guilford, Conn.) increased the gap to nine, 12-3, moments later, but the Golden Eagles responded with a goal, closing the lead back to eight, 12-4, with 13:00 left to play.
• Paltauf found the back of the net himself minutes later, reestablishing a nine-goal USJ lead, 13-4, at the 10:25 mark.
• Freshman Nolan Brown (Norwich, Conn.) added his name to the scoring sheet, scoring his first career goal after another assist from Paltauf, increasing the USJ lead to 14-4 with 7:48 on the clock.
• The Blue Jays continued to roll as goals from Tedeschi and sophomore long stick midfielder Brendan Lutz (Simsbury, Conn.) put the game to rest, as USJ took home a 17-4 victory.

NOTES 

• Paltauf put on a passing clinic, finishing with a game-high 10 points, including a game-high nine assists.
• Decker finished with a game-high four goals, while Zimnoch and Tedeschi netted three.
• Junior defender Jay Kajander (Reading, Mass.) corralled a team-high three ground balls.
• Graduate student defender CJ Denson (West Hartford, Conn.) caused a game-high four turnovers.
• Junior goalkeeper Nick Schilling (Brookfield, Conn.) got the start in-between the pipes, moving to 1-0 on the season after making eight saves.
• The Golden Eagles dominated the faceoff battle, going 18-of-25 from the "X"

UP NEXT

The Blue Jays begin Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) play on Wednesday, March 13, travelling to Weston, Mass. to face-off with the Regis College Pride. Opening faceoff at Regis Stadium is set for 6:00 p.m.

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