April 8, 2012

BOSTON, MA – Saint Joseph's (6-7, 4-1 GNAC) defeated Emerson College (0-5, 0-5 GNAC), 20-10, in a Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) men's lacrosse contest on Saturday afternoon. Senior attackman Jonathan Horgan (Hingham, Mass.) netted four goals and two assists and became the first St. Joe's player to score 100 career goals in the victory.

Horgan entered the game with 98 career goals and wasted little time reaching the historic milestone with two scores in the opening five minutes. He kicked off the game scoring 57 seconds into play with a goal off an Andrew Sullivan (Rochester, N.H.) feed and, after a Jordan Grant (Windsor, Maine) tally, hit the century mark when he beat Emerson goalie Donald Welch (Mooresville, N.C.) with a shot taken at the 10:32 mark. Classmate Benson Pasquarello (Kennebunk, Maine) was credited with an assist on the play.

Horgan's two goals were part of a 6-0 run posted by Saint Joseph's to start the contest. The Lions finally found the scoreboard when sophomore Max Smith (Gillette, N.J.) put one past SJC junior keeper Christopher Driscoll (Saco, Maine) with 3:31 left in the first stanza, but  sophomore Jake Ricciardi (Sharon, Mass.) answered with 17 seconds to go in the first, providing the Royal Blue with a 7-1 cushion after one period of play.

The second quarter would be no better for the hosts as five different Saint Joseph's players scored in the first 11 minutes of the stanza to provide the visitors with a 12-1 advantage. Brady Darragh (Bayport, N.Y.) stopped the Lions' scoring drought with a goal at the 1:33 mark before Horgan and Emerson senior midi Dan Gold (Randolph, N.J.), who found the back of the cage as time expired, swapped scores to make it a 13-3 game heading into intermission.

The third quarter was low-scoring as goals by Kody Peckham (West Gardiner, Maine) and Sullivan effectively countered a Darragh marker. St. Joe's held a commanding 15-4 lead heading into the fourth quarter.

The final period was full of action as the conference counterparts combined to net 11 goals over the last 15 minutes of play. Emerson managed to outscore Saint Joseph's by a 6-2 margin over the first 10 minutes of the fourth, but it was too little, too late for the hosts as the Monks rattled off three straight scores in the last two minutes – with a pair coming off the stick of freshman Max Meserve (Kennebunk, Maine) – to take the 20-10 victory.

Driscoll earned the victory in the cage after making four saves in 45 minutes between the pipes. Freshman Jason Yasenchock (Rochester, N.H.) made two stops in 15 minutes of relief in goal. Welch made 17 saves in a losing effort for the Lions.

For the Monks, senior midfielder Paul Dolewa (Saco, Maine) tallied four goals, Meserve added three goals and two assists, Peckham scored twice and added a helper, Pasquarello contributed a goal and three assists, and Sullivan tallied a goal and two assists.

For the Lions, Darragh and Smith netted three goals apiece, Gold added two goals and a dime, and Eric Colleran (Fairfield, Conn.) chipped in with two goals and three assists in a losing effort.

With the result Saint Joseph's improves to 3-1 in the history of the series with Emerson College. The Monks have defeated the Lions in three consecutive meetings and today's scoring output is the most St. Joe's has scored in a game versus Emerson.

Saint Joseph's will host GNAC foe Emmanuel College on Wednesday at 4:00 PM while Emerson returns to action on Monday when the team hosts Mitchell College in a non-conference tilt slated to start at 4:00 PM.