PHOTO CREDIT: Chris Theodores '25

FRANKLIN, Mass. - #2S Dean College (12-4) rallied past #3N Saint Joseph's College (10-8), 14-12, in Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) men's lacrosse quarterfinal action on Saturday afternoon.

PLAYOFF IMPLICATIONS:

With the win, the Bulldogs advance to the GNAC semifinals and will play at #1N Rivier University – who defeated #4S Johnson & Wales University, 16-3, in other quarterfinal action today – in a second-round matchup on Wednesday, start time TBD.

For the Monks, the loss signals the end of the 2024 season.

HOW IT HAPPENED:

Saint Joseph's scored all four of the first quarter goals, as Tim Goodfellow (Wayland, Mass.), Tiger Hopkins (Leeds, Maine), Xavier Michaud (Wales, Maine), and Tyler Moscato (West Haven, Conn.) hit pay dirt in the opening frame.

Dean responded with four straight strikes in the second quarter, as Manny Alvarez-Segee bookended the string with goals at the 12:39 and 7:45 marks to tie the game at 4-4.

Michaud put the Monks back on top with a marker off a Nick Wesley (Peabody, Mass.) feed with 5:31 left in the second period and Goodfellow kicked off the third quarter scoring with a strike off a Moscato pass 36 seconds after the break to give the Royal Blue a 6-4 cushion.

Once again, the Bulldogs had an answer, this time to the tune of a five-tally string that saw the hosts secure a 9-6 advantage with 9:42 left in the penultimate period.

As it played out, Dean managed to hold on to the lead for the remainder of the contest despite multiple scoring surges from the visitors.

Grad Nathaniel Girardin (Brunswick, Maine) and Hopkins notched unassisted goals to cut the SJC deficit to 9-8 with 6:08 left in the third, but the Bulldogs countered with strikes from Aidan McCarthy and Alec Speirs to make it an 11-8 game going into the final frame.

Trailing 14-9 with 8:59 left, the Monks managed to rattle off three unanswered goals to cut the Dean lead down to 14-12 with 3:23 on the clock. The Bulldogs won the ensuing face-off and did not allow the Monks to record another shot for the remainder of the contest.

TEAM STATS:

Dean held the lead in shots (50-30), shots on goal (25-21), and ground balls (33-32) while Saint Joseph's posted a 16-14 face-off wins advantage and both teams notched 11 caused turnovers.

THE KEEPERS:

SJC freshman starter Reed Wescott (Windham, Maine) made 11 saves in a complete-game performance while Dean netminder Elijah Beland turned away nine shots in the victory.

LEADERS – SAINT JOSEPH'S:

• Hopkins scored four goals on five shots with two ground balls
• Goodfellow added three goals and an assist
• Moscato chipped in with two goals and an assist
• Michaud scored twice and capped his career with 144 goals in 65 games
• Girardin contributed a goal and two assists
• Freshman Zander Kirk (Bath, Maine) was 15-for-16 on face-off attempts with a game-high 13 ground balls

LEADERS – DEAN:

• Speirs tallied four goals, three assists, and two ground balls
• Manny Alvarez-Segee scored four goals with an assist and two ground balls
• Owen Brine and Diego Alvarez-Segee netted two goals apiece

HISTORICALLY SPEAKING:

The Monks are now 2-3 all-time versus Dean College.

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