Manchester, N.H. (April 26) -- The Saint Anselm
men's lacrosse team earned its second straight trip to the
Northeast-10 Tournament with a 14-9 win over Pace University on
Saturday afternoon at Melucci Field. The Hawks finish at 8-6
overall, 6-4 in Northeast-10 play, clinching the fifth seed. The
loss drops Pace out of the Northeast-10 tournament, ending its
season at 7-8, 4-6 in conference play.
Pace jumped out to an early 3-1 lead in the first quarter. The
Hawks struck first, as Matt Surette (Wakefield,
Mass.) buried a goal at the 13:50 mark, assisted by
Mike McClain (Milton, Mass.). The Setters
responded quickly, as Ryan Gregory (Bethpage,
N.Y.) scored just 37 seconds later, assisted by
Jake Sheppard (Brunswick East, Melbourne, Victoria,
Australia), to knot the score at one. Just under a minute
later, T.J. Urban (Kinnelon, N.J.) put the
Setters up 2-1 with a goal, assisted by James Hammel (North
Caldwell, N.J.). Pace added a late goal with 2:03
remaining in the quarter, as Sheppard scored unassisted.
The Hawks came storming back to start the second quarter,
scoring three straight goals early. Matt O'Connell
(Charlestown, Mass.) pocketed a goal at the 12:22 mark,
assisted by Chris Murphy (Winchester, Mass.).
McClain then scored back-to-back goals just over 30 seconds apart
from each other. At the 10:16 mark he tied the game at 3-3,
assisted by O'Connell. McClain then put the Hawks up 4-3 with a
goal at the 9:52 mark. Pace again came back with a handful of
goals. Gregory scored at the 8:39 mark to tie the game back up at
four. Sheppard then gave the Setters a 5-4 advantage at the 5:52
mark. Joe Page (Eagan, Minn.) scored at the 4:47
mark to put Pace up by two and Ben Volen (Mt. Airy,
Md.) gave the Setters a three-goal advantage with just 54
seconds remaining in the half.
The Hawks came back in the third quarter to hold the Setters to
just one goal and score three of their own to cut the lead to one.
Steve Trocki (Braintree, Mass.) scored at the
11:09 mark to notch the 97th point of his career, but Gregory
scored at the 4:38 mark for the Setters, assisted by Urban to take
an 8-5 lead. Another goal from Trocki and a goal from Murphy,
assisted by Ryan McDonald (Bow, N.H.), put the
Hawks down by just one with a quarter remaining.
The Hawks came through with an offensive explosion in the
fourth, netting seven goals and holding the Setters to just one to
take a 14-9 victory. Trocki scored at the 14:11 mark, assisted
by McClain, to tie the game at eight. McClain then put the Hawks up
by one at the 13:22 mark, assisted by Murphy. McClain struck again
just over a minute later to give the Hawks their first two-goal
lead of the game. Gregory brought the Setters back within one with
a goal at the 8:42 mark, assisted by Volen, but the Hawks put the
game out of reach with four goals over the next seven minutes.
Murphy and Joe Costello (Lowell, Mass.) scored a
goal each down the stretch, while Surette scored a pair.
The Hawks will travel to fourth-seeded Saint Michael's for the
first round of the Northeast-10 Tournament on Tuesday for a 4 p.m.
game.
