BIDDEFORD, Maine – The Saint Joseph's College men's lacrosse team suffered an 11-9 setback at the University of New England in the 2026 season opener for both teams on Wednesday afternoon.
HOW IT HAPPENED:
Saint Joseph's struck first and carried a 3-2 edge after one quarter, highlighted by an unassisted opener from sophomore Maxwell Plunske (South Windsor, Conn.) and back-to-back late goals from juniors Nicolas Michaud (Wales, Maine) and Brandon Cavicchi (Kingston, Mass.). The Monks kept the pressure on in the second, stretching the lead to 6-3 behind goals from Cavicchi, sophomore Noah Schaeffer (Gray, Maine), and junior Joseph Kiedaisch (Westminster, Mass.) before UNE's Preston Briggs netted consecutive tallies to make it a 6-5 game at halftime.
UNE flipped the game in the third with three straight goals, including two just eight seconds apart as Stephen and Shea Fogarty scored at the 12:03 and 11:55 marks, and a Hogan Corona strike lifted the hosts to an 8-6 advantage entering the fourth.
Saint Joseph's answered with a quick surge early in the final period—Michaud and freshman Aidan Byrne (West Newbury, Mass.) scored 34 seconds apart to tie it at 8-8, and Cavicchi finished a feed from Michaud to put the Monks in front, 9-8, with 10:52 to play. The Nor'easters responded with the equalizer at 10:02, then grabbed the lead for good at 6:29 before adding an extra-man goal with 1:05 remaining.
STATS OF THE GAME:
Saint Joseph's held edges in shots (41-35) and shots on goal (23-16), but went 0-for-6 in man-up situations and faced a goalkeeper who registered 14 saves.
THE KEEPERS:
The Monks split time in the cage, as junior Reed Wescott (Windham, Maine) allowed five goals and made three saves in the first half and sophomore Jake Dernier (Marshfield, Mass.) turned away two shots while yielding six goals in the second half.
UNE netminder Eli Allaire enjoyed a fine start to the season, making 14 saves with six ground balls in a complete-game performance.
LEADERS – SAINT JOSEPH'S:
LEADERS – UNE:
- Shea Fogarty: 3 goals, 1 assist
- Preston Briggs: 3 goals
- Stephen Fogarty: 2 goals
- Hogan Corona: 2 goals
- Kyle Dunn: 5 assists
HISTORICALLY SPEAKING:
With the setback, Saint Joseph's falls to 1-9 in the history of the series with the University of New England. Each of the last four meetings has been decided by four goals or fewer.
NEXT!
Saint Joseph's will host Salem State University in the Monks' 2026 home opener on Friday at 4:00 PM.
