Men's Lacrosse Takes Down Lasell, 7-6, Advances to GNAC Championship Game

WEST HARTFORD, Conn. – The South Division top-seeded University of Saint Joseph (USJ) men's lacrosse team advanced to the Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) Championship game for the second consecutive season, defeating South Division third-seeded Lasell University, 7-6, in the GNAC Semifinals Wednesday evening at the USJ Lacrosse Field in West Hartford, Conn. With the result the Blue Jays improved to 15-3 overall on the year, while the Lasers concluded their season at 11-7 overall.

KEY MOMENTS 

• The Lasers grabbed an early lead, finding the back of the net at the 11:39 mark of the first quarter to take a 1-0 edge.
• USJ answered back minutes later, as sophomore midfielder Nick Pestrichello (Newington, Conn.) found space and rifled a shot into the net, tying the game at 1-1 with 7:43 left on the first-quarter clock.
• The Blue Jays grabbed the lead moments later, as junior midfielder Christian Decker (Bristol, Conn.) picked out a pass to senior attack Evan Baden (Burlington, Conn.), who fired his shot past the Lasell keeper and gave USJ the lead, 2-1, at the 5:12 mark.
• The Lasers tied the game with seven seconds left in the opening quarter, sending the game into the second deadlocked at 2-2.
• USJ would regain the lead early in the second, as Decker dished out another assist to senior attack Ryan Paltauf (Southbury, Conn.), who established a 3-2 edge with 12:46 on the clock.
• The Blue Jays increased the gap to 4-2, as Baden picked out the top right corner of the goal with 9:33 remaining in the first half.
• Baden rounded out his hat trick on the day at the 4:34 mark of the second period, receiving a pass from Paltauf before finding the top right corner again, extending the Blue Jays advantage to 5-2.
• Decker would find the back of the net himself after getting a pass from Paltauf, taking full advantage of a man-up situation to increase the gap to 6-2 with 1:19 left in the half.
• Lasell put a stop to the four-goal scoring run by the Blue Jays, cutting the gap to 6-3 as the game reached halftime.
• The Lasers struck first in the second half, closing the gap to 6-4, at the 10:41 mark of the third quarter.
• Lasell closed the gap back to one, 6-5, after finding the back of the net with 2:52 left before the final quarter of play.
• The Blue Jays would keep hold of the lead, 6-5, entering the fourth quarter.
• USJ struck first to open the fourth, as Decker netted a man-up goal after a pass from freshman attack Matthew Wurszt (Wilbraham, Mass.), increasing the lead to 7-5 at the 14:15 mark.
• Lasell would not go away though, closing the gap back to one, 7-6, with a goal at the 6:44 mark.
• The Blue Jays defense came up clutch multiple times in the closing moments as senior goalkeeper Trey McCann (Simsbury, Conn.) produced numerous point-blank saves to preserve the victory for USJ, 7-6, and send the Blue Jays into the GNAC Championship game.

NOTES 

• Decker paced the team with four points off two goals and two assists.
• Baden netted a hat trick to lead the team in goals.
• Freshman midfielder Mike Decker (Bristol, Conn.) corralled a team-high four ground balls.
• Mike Decker also caused a team-best three turnovers.
• McCann got the win in the cage, tallying 13 saves on the evening.

UP NEXT

The Blue Jays advance to the GNAC Championship game for the second consecutive year and will host South Division second-seeded Dean College on Saturday, May 4. Opening faceoff at the USJ Lacrosse Field is set for 1:00 p.m.

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