Men's Lacrosse Trounces Albertus Magnus, 20-4, at Home in Regular-Season Finale

WEST HARTFORD, Conn. – The University of Saint Joseph (USJ) men's lacrosse team rounded out the 2023 regular season with a bang, taking down Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) rival Albertus Magnus College (AMC) in convincing fashion, 20-4, Tuesday night at the USJ Lacrosse Field in West Hartford, Conn. Freshman midfield Nick Pestrichello (Wethersfield, Conn.) paced the team with five goals, while senior attack Evan Baden (Burlington, Conn.) tallied seven points off three goals and four assists. With the win, and other results around the league, the Blue Jays locked up the sixth seed and will take on third-seeded Rivier University in the upcoming GNAC Postseason Tournament

GAME INFORMATION
Score: USJ 20, AMC 4
Records: USJ 9-8 (5-5 GNAC), AMC (8-8, 2-8 GNAC)
Location: USJ Lacrosse Field | West Hartford, Conn.

The Blue Jays wasted little time opening the scoring, as sophomore midfield Gavin Cabral (Burlington, Conn.) fought past his defender before firing his shot into the net, giving USJ a 1-0 lead at the 13:22 mark. Baden quickly made it 2-0, utilizing a nice solo effort to increase the gap with 12:15 on the clock. USJ continued to fire on all cylinders offensively, as Baden dished out a great pass from behind the net, firing a wide-open sophomore attack Evan Zimnoch (Southington, Conn.), who scored the easy goal to establish a 3-0 USJ lead and forcing AMC to call timeout with 11:45 on the clock.

The Falcons came out of the timeout strong, cutting the gap to two, 3-1, with a goal at the 8:07 mark, but USJ did not need much time to reestablish a three-goal lead. After working the ball around well, as freshman Cam Fonseca (Saunderstown, R.I.) found an opening and fired his shot past the AMC goalkeeper, giving USJ a 4-1 edge with 7:24 left in the first. Cabral continued the Blue Jays hot start, netting his second goal of the game minutes later, increasing the lead to 5-1 at the 4:59 mark. The goals continued to flow in for USJ, as Baden extended the lead to 6-1 at the 2:57 mark, before Cabral rounded out the quarter by netting his hattrick, sending USJ into the second quarter with a 7-1 lead.

USJ continued to dominate in the second quarter, as Pestrichello was left with space to shoot, firing his shot into the net to increase the gap to 8-1 at the 13:03 mark. Sophomore midfield Christian Decker (Bristol, Conn.) took full advantage of a man-up situation, quickly making it 9-1, after he received a pass from Zimnoch before rifling his shot into the net with 12:33 left in the half. The Falcons though would fire back, cutting the gap to 10-2 with a goal at the 10:30 mark. Pestrichello put a quick stop to the AMC momentum, rifling a solo strike into net to increase the gap to 10, 11-1 with 7:03 left in the half. The Blue Jays took advantage of another man-up chance, as Pestrichello received a pass from Baden before firing his shot into the top right corner, establishing a 12-2 lead and completing his hattrick, forcing Albertus to call a timeout at the 4:55 mark.

The Blue Jays momentum carried over into the second half as junior midfield Samuel Barbetti (Guilford, Conn.) won the opening faceoff before rushing down the field and firing his shot into the net, increasing the gap to 14-2 at the 14:54 mark. Fonseca continued his dominating performance, receiving a pass from Crisco before netting his fourth of the goal during a man-up chance, extending the USJ lead to 15-2 with 13:47 left in the third quarter.

The Blue Jays continued to punish the Falcons in man-up chances, as Pestrichello and Decker netted back-to-back man-up goals to increase the USJ lead to 17-2 with 9:29 left in the third. However, AMC would net two unanswered goals to end the quarter, sending USJ into the fourth with a 17-4 lead. The Blue Jays continued to dominate the game, as Barbetti, Baden and Pestrichello all found the back of the net, securing a 20-4 victory over the Falcons.

GOALIE BREAKDOWN

AMC – Dane Walsh played all 60 minutes in goal for the Falcons, taking home the loss (7-7) after allowing 20 goals and making 22 saves.

USJ – Senior Trey McCann (Simsbury, Conn.) got the start in goal for USJ, picking up the win (8-8) after making three saves and allowing two goals in 30 minutes of action. Sophomore Nick Schilling (Brookfield, Conn.) played the entire third quarter, allowing two goals while making two saves, while senior Jayme Hollimion (Blacksburg, Va.) played the fourth quarter, recording six saves.

UP NEXT
The Blue Jays begin postseason play on Saturday, April 29, at third-seeded Rivier University. First faceoff from Joanne Merrill Field in Nashua, N.H. is yet to be determined.

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