STANDISH, Maine – Junior attack Shane Puleo (Nashua, N.H.) tallied four goals and four assists to help lead Saint Joseph's College (2-0) past Husson University (0-3), 18-4, in non-conference men's lacrosse action at the SJC Athletics Complex on Tuesday evening.

HOW IT HAPPENED:

The Monks took command early in their 2020 home-opener, as the hosts netted four goals in the first five minutes and held a 6-0 lead after the opening 15 minutes of play.

Puleo, who scored the Monks' last two goals of the first quarter, opened the second stanza with a pair of tallies to extend the SJC advantage to 8-0 with 9:30 before the break. Gunner McAllister (Albion, Maine) finally put the Eagles on the board at the 5:33 mark with a strike off a Shawn Ragaglia (Farmington, Conn.) pass.

The in-state rivals swapped scores early in the third quarter with St. Joe's leading 9-2 before the Monks rattled off six unanswered goals – scored by six different players – to make it a 15-2 contest heading into the fourth frame. Saint Joseph's netted three of the five goals in the final quarter to account for the 18-4 final.

TEAM STATS:

The Monks held in shots (50-26), shots on goal (27-16), ground balls (46-29), turnovers (16-25), and caused turnovers (15-8). Both teams won 13 face-offs on the evening.

THE KEEPERS:

The Monks employed three goalies in the victory, as sophomore Michael Janocha (Southampton, Mass.) picked up the win after allowing two goals and making eight saves in 45 minutes and freshmen Giuseppe Brown (Gorham, Maine) and Brannon Gilbert (Gray, Maine) combined to make four stops and yield a pair of goals in the fourth quarter.

Husson starter Kyle Prior (Hartland, Vt.) took the loss after allowing 15 goals and making eight saves in 48:44 minutes and Bryan Wagg (Lewiston, Maine) gave up three goals with one stop in 11:16 of relief duty.

LEADERS – SAINT JOSEPH'S:

• Puleo led the Monks offensive effort with four goals and four assists
• Freshman Max Lacy (Salisbury, N.H.) netted three goals with an assist and six ground balls
• Junior Brendan Martin (Nashua, N.H.) registered two goals, an assist, and five ground balls
• Sophomore Devin Linscott (Nashua, N.H.) added two goals and an assist
• Junior Alex Osmanski (Abington, Mass.) scored a goal with eight ground balls and a pair of caused turnovers
• Freshman Eli Arsenault (Saco, Maine) picked up five ground balls with a pair of caused turnovers
• Freshman Xavier Michaud (Wales, Maine) tacked on a goal and an assist
• Sophomore Gunnar Wade (Lewiston, Maine) netted a goal and dealt an assist
• Senior face-off midi Shane Fors (Ledyard, Conn.) scored a goal with three ground balls and won 13 of 24 face-off attempts
• Glenn Dion (Pembroke, N.H.) and Dylan Cobbett (Standish, Maine) also added tallies in the win

LEADERS – HUSSON:

• McAllister scored two goals with five ground balls
• Jaden Wells (Saco, Maine) recorded a goal and an assist with a pair of ground balls
• Roman Dennis (Lewiston, Maine) scooped up five ground balls

HISTORICALLY SPEAKING:

With the victory Saint Joseph's improves to 8-4 all-time versus Husson University and has now defeated the Eagles in eight-consecutive meetings dating back to the 2013 campaign.

NEXT!

Saint Joseph's will play a pair of games in California over Spring Break next week, starting with a 10:00 PM (EST) game at Whittier College on Tuesday. The Monks close out the trip with a 3:00 PM (EST) contest versus Houghton College on Thursday.

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