Men's Lacrosse Dominates Mitchell, 24-1, During Senior Day

WEST HARTFORD, Conn. – The University of Saint Joseph (USJ) men's lacrosse team had a senior day to remember, defeating Mitchell College (Mitchell), 24-1, during Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) South Division play Saturday afternoon at the USJ Lacrosse Field in West Hartford, Conn. With the result the Blue Jays move to 12-3 overall on the year, 8-1 in GNAC play and 4-1 in the South, while the Mariners drop to 0-10 overall, 0-9 in the GNAC and 0-5 in the South. Prior to the opening faceoff, the Blue Jays honored seniors Sam Barbetti (Guilford, Conn.), Ryan Paltauf (Southbury, Conn), Andrew Parisi (Ellington, Conn.), Nicholas Romano (Harwinton, Conn.), Raymond Heim (Harwinton, Conn.), Trey McCann (Simsbury, Conn.) and Evan Baden (Burlington, Conn.) during a special senior day ceremony.

KEY MOMENTS 

• The Blue Jays opened the game strong, as freshman attack Alex Milne (Branford, Conn.) recorded his first career goal, receiving a pass from junior midfielder Christian Decker (Bristol, Conn.) before firing a shot into the net at the 11:50 mark.
• USJ added another goal a minute later, as senior midfielder Barbetti received a pass from Paltauf, before rifling his shot into the net, increasing the lead to 2-0 at the 10:51 mark.
• Decker found the back of the net himself at the 6:29 mark, recording a solo goal to extend the USJ advantage to 3-0.
• Mitchell answered back moments later, cutting the gap to 3-1 with 6:17 left in the first.
• USJ responded immediately, as freshman attack Quinn Perkins (Norwich, Conn.) scored a goal with 5:00 on the clock.
• The Blue Jays added three goals to close the first quarter, as sophomore attack Freeman Johnson (Swanzey, N.Y.), Perkins and Heim, whose goal was the first for his career, found the back of the net, sending USJ into the second with a 7-1 lead.
• Freshman attack JD DeNicola-Rakvin (Staten Island, N.Y.) continued the Blue Jays momentum to open the second, finding the back of the net at the 14:43 mark, increasing the gap to 8-1.
• DeNicola-Rakvin added his second moments later, extending the gap to 9-1 at the 13:49 mark.
• USJ continued to dominate offensively, as freshman attack Brendan Tedeschi (Orange, Vt.), freshman attack Adam Pelletier (North Kingstown, R.I.), Parisi, freshman midfielder Dylan Hood (Orange, Vt.), junior attack Evan Zimnoch (Southington, Conn.) and freshman long-stick midfielder Nolan Brown (Norwich, Conn.) all found the back of the net, increasing the USJ lead to 17-1 at the half.
• DeNicola-Rakvin, Tedeschi and junior attack Cole Primo (Berlin, Conn.) added goals in the third quarter, extending the lead to 20-1 entering the fourth.
• The Blue Jays continued to control the game, as Heim, Milne, Pelletier and junior midfielder Luke von Borstel (Massena, N.Y.) all found the back of the net, as USJ took home a 24-1 victory.

NOTES 

• Zimnoch, Pelletier, DeNicola-Rakvin, and Paltauf all paced the team with four points each.
• Paltauf dished out a team-best four assists.
• Pelletier and DeNicola-Rakvin netted hattricks.
• Freshman midfielder Benjamin Bausch (Holliston, Mass.) corralled a team-best nine ground balls.
• Junior long-stick midfielder Micah Tarlton and sophomore long-stick midfielder RJ Longo (Newington, Conn.) forced a team-best three turnovers each.
• Bausch and Parisi both went 10-for-14 at the faceoff "X".
• McCann got the win in the cage for USJ, playing the opening 4:09 in the cage.
• Freshman Noah Isleib (Easton, Mass.) played the remainder of the game in goal, allowing one goal and making one save.
• The 12 wins in a single season are now the most in program history.

UP NEXT

The Blue Jays round out the 2024 regular season on Wednesday, April 24, heading to rivals Albertus Magnus College. Opening faceoff against the Falcons on Celentano Field in New Haven, Conn., is set for 6:00 p.m.

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