Men’s Lacrosse Season Ends Against Saint Joseph’s College in GNAC Semifinals

KEY MOMENTS

• USJ struck first at the 11:23 mark of the opening quarter, as senior attack Nick Pestrichello (Newington, Conn.) buried an unassisted tally.
• SJC answered with back‑to‑back goals to take a 2–1 lead before junior midfielder Brenden Tedeschi (Orange, Vt.) evened the score off a feed from sophomore attack Dominic Oakes (Southington, Conn.) with 2:52 remaining in the frame.
• The Monks regained the lead midway through the second quarter, but Pestrichello responded with his second unassisted goal of the night to knot the game at 3–3 heading into halftime.
• USJ opened the second half with momentum, capitalizing on a man‑up opportunity as freshman midfielder Brady Stevens (Laconia, N.H.) finished a pass from Oakes to give the Blue Jays a 4–3 edge. Pestrichello struck again less than three minutes later to extend the lead to 5–3.
• SJC responded with three consecutive goals — including a man‑up tally and a late strike with 1:37 remaining in the third quarter — to swing the score in its favor, 6–5.
• The Monks added an early fourth‑quarter goal to push the lead to 7–5 before USJ cut the deficit to one at the 9:28 mark, as senior attack Freeman Johnson (Swanzey, N.H.) converted off another helper from Oakes.
• Despite sustained pressure and multiple shot attempts down the stretch, the Blue Jays were unable to find the equalizer. SJC added an insurance goal with 7:03 remaining and held off USJ in the final minutes to secure the 8–6 victory.

INSIDE THE BOX SCORE

• Pestrichello led USJ offensively with a hat trick, scoring three goals on a game‑high 23 shots.
• With his first goal of the game, Pestrichello recorded his 200th career point, becoming the second player in program history to reach the milestone.
• Johnson and Stevens each added a goal, while Tedeschi also found the back of the net.
• Oakes paced the Blue Jays with three assists.
• Junior goalkeeper Noah Isleib (Easton, Mass.) recorded five saves, while freshman Will Keegan (West Hartford, Conn.) saw late action in net and made one save.
• SJC controlled possession at the faceoff X, winning 12‑of‑18 draws, and held a 35–30 advantage in ground balls.