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Photo Credit: Steve McLaughlin Photography
Photo Credit: Steve McLaughlin Photography

Men's Lacrosse Dominates Elms, 20-9, on the Road Saturday Afternoon

WEST HARTFORD, Conn. – The University of Saint Joseph (USJ) men's lacrosse team made it back-to-back dominating wins, taking down Elms College, 20-9, during Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) South Division play Saturday afternoon at Timothy J. Leary Field in Chicopee, Mass. With the result the Blue Jays move to 10-3 overall on the year, 6-1 in GNAC play and 2-1 in the South, while the Blazers drop to 5-6 overall, 3-4 in the GNAC and 2-2 in the South.

KEY MOMENTS 

  • USJ grabbed an early lead, as sophomore midfielder Nick Pestrichello (Newington, Conn.) found the back of the net at the 11:21 mark.
  • Elms would tie the game at 1-1, but senior attack Evan Baden (Burlington, Conn.) swung the lead back in USJ's favor, 2-1, after netting a solo goal with 4:22 on the clock.
  • USJ found the back of the net again during the closing moments of the first quarter, as a freshman attack Matthew Wurszt (Wilbraham, Mass.) found junior midfielder Christian Decker (Bristol, Conn.), who rifled his shot into the goal, increasing the Blue Jays lead to 3-1 after the first.
  • The Blue Jays carried the momentum into the second, taking full advantage of a pair of man-up opportunities, as Wurszt and Baden netted back-to-back man-up goals, increasing the USJ lead to 5-1 with 13:37 left in the half.
  • Junior midfielder Garrett Lazor (Monroe, Conn.) continued the offensive onslaught, finding the back of the net, before senior midfielder Sam Barbetti (Guilford, Conn.) scored a goal of his own less than a minute later, extending the gap to 7-1 with 9:04 on the clock.
  • Baden rounded out his hattrick with a goal at the 8:31 mark before Elms put an end to the Blue Jays scoring run, cutting the deficit to 8-2 at the 8:16 mark.
  • The Blazers goal would not deter USJ, as Decker, freshman defender Vinny Pusateri (Fitchburg, Mass.) and junior attack Evan Zimnoch (Southington, Conn.) rattled off three unanswered goals, increasing the Blue Jays lead to 11-2 with 2:06 left in the half.
  • Elms found the back of the net once again, but Barbetti and junior midfielder Luke von Borstel (Massena, N.Y.) scored back-to-back goals within the final 15 seconds of play to send USJ into the locker room with a 13-3 lead.
  • USJ continued to keep its foot on the gas out of the halftime break, as Baden scored two goals followed by a Decker strike, increasing the lead to 16-3 with 8:12 on the clock.
  • Baden continued his impressive day, scoring a man-down goal that was sandwiched in-bewteen two Elms strikes, as the Blue Jays took a 17-5 edge into the fourth quarter.
  • Elms rattled off two unanswered goals to open the fourth before Decker netted his fourth goal of the game, giving USJ an 18-7 edge at the 7:25 mark.
  • The Blazers scored again to close the score to 18-8, but Pestrichello and freshman attack Quinn Perkins (Norwich, Conn.) found the back of the net, increasing the lead to 20-8.
  • Elms would score late, but the deficit was too much to overcome as USJ took home a 20-9 victory.

NOTES 

  • Baden paced the team with eight points off six goals and two assists.
  • Decker netted two goals on the day, scoring his 99th career point.
  • Baden also caused a team-high four turnovers.
  • von Borstel corralled a team-best six ground balls.
  • He also paced the team at the faceoff "X", winning seven of his 12 attempts.
  • Senior Trey McCann (Simsbury, Conn.) got the win in the cage for USJ, allowing eight goals and making eight saves in 54:20 minutes of play.
  • Freshman Noah Isleib (Easton, Mass.) played the remaining 5:40 in goal, making one save.

UP NEXT

The Blue Jays return home for a marquee GNAC South Division matchup against Lasell University on Wednesday, April 14. Opening faceoff against the Lasers on the USJ Lacrosse Field in West Hartford, Conn., is set for 4:00 p.m.


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