Baden Tallies 100th Career Point, Leads Men's Lacrosse Past Manhattanville, 16-5, on the Road Thursday

PURCHASE, N.Y. – The University of Saint Joseph (USJ) men's lacrosse team dominated on the road at Manhatanville College (Manhatanville), Thursday night, defeating the Valiants, 16-5, on GoValiants.com Field in Purchase, N.Y. Senior attack Evan Baden (Burlington, Conn.) made program history, becoming the second Blue Jay to eclipse the 100 career point mark, after he tallied eight points off five goals and three assists. He joins teammate junior Ryan Paltauf (Southbury, Conn.) as the lone Blue Jays to reach the 100-point tally.

GAME INFORMATION
Score: Manhattanville 5, USJ 16
Records: Manhattanville 2-4, USJ 5-3
Location: GoValiants.com Field | Purchase, N.Y.

USJ wasted little time getting on the scoreboard, as Baden received a pass from sophomore midfielder Christian Decker (Bristol, Conn.) before rifling a shot into the net, 53 seconds into the game to give the Blue Jays the early lead. Decker continued to be a dynamic playmaker, finding an open Cam Fonseca (Saunderstown, R.I.), who increased the lead to 2-0 at the 13:05 mark. The Valiants looked to put an end to the early momentum, cutting the gap to one, 2-1, with a strike at the 10:56 mark, but Decker would score a goal of his own, increasing the lead back to 2, 3-1, with 9:33 on the clock.

Decker would connect with Fonseca again a minute later, as Fonseca netted his second goal of the game, increasing the gap to 4-1. Fonseca would round out his first quarter hattrick a few minutes later, giving USJ a 5-1 lead after receiving a pass from Michael Callahan (Hampton, N.J.) at the 6:23 mark. Baden kept USJ's momentum going, scoring with 3:46 on the clock after being found open by Evan Zimnoch (Southington, Conn.), before making history, tallying his 100^th career point as he ripped a solo effort into the net, increasing the lead to 7-1 with 3:00 left in the quarter. The Blue Jays kept their foot on the gas heading into the closing moments, as Zimnoch got his name in the goal scorer category, firing into the net to send USJ into the second quarter with an 8-1 lead.

Baden continued his career day in the second quarter, scoring from a man-up chance to give USJ a 9-1 lead at the 13:39 mark. The Valiants would score next, cutting the gap to 9-2, but three-straight Nick Prestrichello (Wethersfield, Conn.) goals saw USJ take a double-digit edge, 12-2, with 7:42 left in the first half. However, the rest of the half fell quiet as the Manhattanville goalkeeper and senior goalie Trey McCann (Simsbury, Conn.) kept the opposing offenses off the scoreboard, until the Valiants put a third goal on the board at the 3:26 mark, sending USJ into the half leading, 12-3.

USJ broke open the gap back to 10 goals, as senior Matt Crisco (North Haven, Conn.) scored from a man-up chance to put the Blue Jays ahead 13-3 at the 12:32 mark. The game slowed down again in the third quarter, as neither offense could generate a clear-cut scoring chance, until the Valiants put an end to the deadlock, finding the back of the net at the 5:31 mark, cutting the score to 13-4. However, Fonseca fired back for USJ, giving USJ a 14-4 edge with 3:07 left in the third quarter sending USJ into the fourth quarter with the advantage. Manhattanville opened the scoring first in the fourth quarter, but goals from Baden and Pestrichello put the game to rest, securing a 16-5 victory on the road for the Blue Jays.

GOALIE BREAKDOWN

MANHATTANVILLE – Cody Johnston earned the start in-between the pipes for Manhattanville, picking up the loss (2-4) after allowing 10 goals and making eight saves in 19:27 minutes of play. Joe Ulzheimer played the remaining 40:33 minutes, tallying 11 saves while letting in six goals.

USJ – McCann played the majority of the game in goal for USJ, picking up the win (5-2) after tallying nine saves, while allowing five goals in 56:27 minutes of play. Sophomore Nick Schilling (Brookfield, Conn.) played the remaining 3:33 in goal for the Blue Jays.

BATTLE AT THE 'X'

The Blue Jays dominated at the faceoff "X", going 18-for-24 on the night. Sophomore Luke von Borstel (Massena, N.Y.) was a menace at the "X" leading USJ with a 13-for-16 outing.

UP NEXT
The Blue Jays return to West Hartford for their final non-conference game of the 2023 slate, welcoming cross-town and Division I foes the University of Hartford on Saturday, March 25. Start time against the Hawks from the USJ Lacrosse Field in West Hartford, Conn., is set for noon.

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