Men's Lacrosse Bests Saint Joseph's College, 11-7, Advances to GNAC Semifinals

WEST HARTFORD, Conn. – The South Division second-seeded University of Saint Joseph (USJ) men's lacrosse team took care of business at home, defeating North Division third-seeded Saint Joseph's College of Maine (SJC), 11-7, during the Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) Quarterfinals Saturday afternoon at the USJ Lacrosse Field in West Hartford, Conn. With the victory, the Blue Jays advance to the Semifinals for the third consecutive season and improve to 9-7 on the year, while the Monks conclude their 2025 campaign at 7-9 overall.

KEY MOMENTS

• USJ struck first, as graduate student Aidan D'Amato (Tolland, Conn.) found the back of the net at the 11:08 mark, establishing a 1-0 USJ lead.
• The Monks quickly answered back, tying the game at 1-1 with 10:19 on the clock.
• D'Amato wasted little time scoring his second goal of the game, rifling a shot into the goal before sophomore midfielder Brenden Tedeschi (Orange, Vt.) scored his first goal of the game at the 3:15 mark, extending the Blue Jays lead to 3-1.
• SJC fired back with a late goal, cutting the gap to 3-2 entering the second quarter.
• The Monks carried the momentum into the second, tying the game at 3-3 40 seconds into the frame, but graduate student attack Evan Baden (Burlington, Conn.) converted a man-up chance at the 11:03 mark, reestablishing a USJ edge, 4-3.
• SJc quickly answered, leveling the score at 4-4, but Tedeschi would net his second goal of the game, while sophomore midfielder Matthew Wurszt (Wilbraham, Mass.) would find the back of the net and sophomore defenseman Vinny Pusateri III (Fitchburg, Mass.) caused a turnover in the USJ defensive zone, corralling the ground ball and rushing down the field before unleashing a strike past the Monks goalkeeper, increasing the gap to 9-5 with 5:49 left in the half.
• The Monks did put a stop to the USJ scoring run, closing the deficit to 9-6 entering the fourth quarter.
• The Blue Jays did not let the late Monks goal get to them though, as Baden rounded out his hattrick at the 9:54 mark before graduate student attack Ryan Paltauf (Southbury, Conn.) expertly burned time off the clock before rushing past his defender and rifling a shot into the goal, increasing the USJ advantage to 11-6, with 4:05 left to play.
• SJC would find the back of the net at the 3:02 mark, but the USJ defense stood strong for the remainder of the game, not allowing the Monks to complete an upset bid as the Blue Jays secured the victory, 11-7.

INSIDE THE BOX SCORE

• Baden paced the team with four points off a hattrick and one assist.
• Pusateri III netted his first career goal.
• Graduate student midfielder Kevin Carr (West Hartford, Conn.) corralled a team-high six ground balls.
• Senior midfielder Christian Decker (Bristol, Conn.) and graduate student defenseman CJ Denson (West Hartford, Conn.) caused a team-high two turnovers each.
• The Monks held the advantage at the faceoff "X", posting a 14-of-22 clip on the day.
• Senior midfielder Luke von Borstel (Massena, N.Y.) was the main face-off man, winning four of his ten attempts.
• Graduate student goalkeeper Trey McCann (Simsbury, Conn.) played all 60 minutes in the cage for USJ, picking up the win after making 11 saves.

UP NEXT

The Blue Jays continue the quest to defend its GNAC Championship, traveling to Nashua, N.H., on Tuesday, April 29 for the GNAC Semifinals against the North Division top-seeded Raiders of Rivier University. Opening faceoff at Joanne Merrill Field is set for 7:00 p.m.

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