WEST HARTFORD, CT. – The Saint Joseph's College (Maine) men's lacrosse team wrapped up its 2025 season on Saturday with an 11-7 loss to the University of Saint Joseph (Conn.) in the GNAC quarterfinals.
The Monks finish the year with a 7-9 overall record and a 5-4 mark in conference play. With the win, the Blue Jays improve to 9-7 (6-3 GNAC) and move on to the semifinals. The first half was tight with the Monks trailing just 6-4 at the break. USJ began to pull away in the third pushing the lead to 9-5 before securing the win in the fourth.
Will Levesque (Marlow, NH) led the SJC offense with three goals and an assist. Joseph Kiedaisch (Westminster, MA) added two goals, while Calvin Heline (Amesbury, MA) chipped in with a goal and two assists. Brandon Cavicchi (Kingston, MA)also found the net. Reed Wescott (Windham, ME) made nine saves for the Monks.
For USJ, Evan Baden paced the attack with three goals and an assist. Matthew Wurszt, Brenden Tedeschi, and Aidan D'Amato each scored twice, and both Ryan Paltauf and Vinny Pusateri III added a goal.
USJ struck first just under four minutes in, but Cavicchi responded to tie it at 1-1. The Blue Jays then added two more before Levesque scored late in the first to cut it to 3-2.
The second quarter saw more back-and-forth action. Levesque tied it at 3-3 early on, but USJ answered with three of the next four to take a 6-4 lead into halftime.
USJ extended the margin to four in the third before Levesque completed his hat trick, making it 9-6. Kiedaisch scored again in the fourth, but the Blue Jays added two more to close things out.
USJ held a slight edge in total shots, 40-33, and shots on goal, 20-18. The Monks controlled the ground game with a 41-36 advantage in ground balls and won 14 of 22 face-offs, thanks in large part to senior Zander Kirk, who went 12-for-19 at the X. On clears, USJ was more efficient, converting 17-of-19 attempts compared to SJC's 18-of-24. Special teams made a difference as well, with the Blue Jays capitalizing on one of their man-up opportunities, while the Monks went 0-for-5.
With the loss, the Monks' 2025 season officially comes to a close.
