Men's Lacrosse Holds Off Manhattanvile, 10-8, Saturday Afternoon

WEST HARTFORD, Conn. – The University of Saint Joseph (USJ) men's lacrosse team picked up its second straight win to open the 2026 regular season, holding off non-conference foe Manhattanville University (Manhattanville), 10-8, in the team's 2026 home opener Saturday afternoon at USJ Lacrosse Field in West Hartford, Conn. With the win, the Blue Jays improve to 2-0 overall, while the Valiants begin the year at 0-1.

HOW IT HAPPENED

• USJ started the game strong, taking an early 1-0 lead on a solo goal from senior attack Nick Pestrichello (Newington, Conn.) at the 12:03 mark.
• Manhattanville answered 30 seconds later, but senior attack Freeman Johnson (Swanzey, N.H.) quickly swung the lead back in the Blue Jays' favor, converting on a man-up opportunity to give USJ a 2-1 edge with 10:16 on the clock.
• The Valiants leveled the game again, but back-to-back goals from Pestrichello and Johnson — the latter coming on a man-down opportunity after a pass from junior midfielder Michael Decker (Bristol, Conn.) — gave USJ a 4-2 advantage with 2:33 left in the first. Manhattanville struck late, however, trimming the deficit to 4-3 entering the second quarter.
• USJ controlled much of the second quarter, as junior midfielder Brenden Tedeschi (Orange, Vt.) opened the scoring with a solo effort at the 9:39 mark.
• Pestrichello continued his dominant outing, completing his hat trick at the 5:44 mark. Junior attack Adam Pelletier (North Kingstown, R.I.) then added to the lead, finishing an assist from sophomore attack Dominic Oakes (Southington, Conn.) to push the advantage to 7-3 with 3:51 remaining in the half.
• The Valiants halted the run with a goal at the 1:03 mark, cutting the deficit to 7-4 at halftime.
• The teams traded goals to open the third quarter, as Pelletier notched his second of the game off an assist from freshman midfielder Brady Stevens (Laconia, N.H.), while Pestrichello netted his fourth of the day off a feed from senior defenseman Nick Wesley (Wakefield, Mass.). The pair countered two Manhattanville goals to maintain a three-goal cushion, 9-6, with 3:52 on the clock.
• Manhattanville capitalized on special teams opportunities late in the quarter, scoring both a man-up and a man-down goal to cut the gap to 9-8 entering the fourth.
• Both defenses stood firm for much of the final frame until graduate student attack Brycen Kennedy (Southington, Conn.) found junior attack Alexander Milne (Branford, Conn.), who rifled home a man-up goal to extend the lead to 10-8.
• Manhattanville was not able to generate another scoring opportunity, as USJ secured the 10-8 victory.

INSIDE THE BOX SCORE 

• Pestrichello paced the offense with four goals.

• Decker, Kennedy and Wesley all recorded their first assists on the season.

• Tedeschi scored his team-leading sixth goal of the year, while Pelletier tallied his second and third. Johnson netted his second of the campaign and Milne added his first.

• Wesley and junior defenseman Vinny Pusateri III (Fitchburg, Mass.) collected a team-high six ground balls apiece.

• Junior defenseman Mason Koloski (Lincoln, R.I.) anchored the defense with four caused turnovers.

• Junior faceoff specialist Aaron Goldstein (Walden, N.Y.) got the better of his former teammates, posting a 14-for-20 at the faceoff X.

• Junior goalkeeper Noah Isleib (Easton, Mass.) played all 60 minutes and earned the win after recording nine saves.

UP NEXT

The Blue Jays head back on the road for a non-conference game against Wheaton College on Saturday, February 28. Opening faceoff against the Lyons at Diane Nordin '80 Athletic Field in Norton, Mass., si set for 1:00 p.m.

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