WEST HARTFORD, Conn. – #6 Saint Joseph's College of Maine (11-8, 7-4 GNAC) punched its ticket to the GNAC Championship with an 8-6 upset victory over #2 University of Saint Joseph (14-3, 9-1 GNAC) in a Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) Semifinal matchup on Wednesday evening.
PLAYOFF IMPLICATIONS:
With the victory, Saint Joseph's advances to the GNAC Championship for the first time in program history and will travel to Nashua to take on #1 Rivier University on Saturday. Rivier defeated #5 Norwich University, 13-11, in the other semifinal.
The loss ends the season for the Blue Jays.
HOW IT HAPPENED:
University of Saint Joseph struck first with a goal from Nick Pestrichello at 11:23 of the opening quarter, but the Monks answered less than two minutes later as sophomore Jacob Magri (North Hampton, N.H.) finished a long pass from sophomore goalkeeper Jake Dernier (Marshfield, Mass.) at the 10:04 mark. Saint Joseph's secured a 2-1 lead when junior Joseph Kiedaisch (Westminster, Mass.) scored off a Cody Southwick (Saco, Maine) assist at 4:36, but the Blue Jays countered with a Brenden Tedeschi goal two minutes later to make it a 2-2 game after one frame.
The Monks regained the lead in the second quarter when sophomore Maxwell Plunske (South Windsor, Conn.) scored off a Kiedaisch feed at 5:35. Pestrichello answered for the hosts at 3:37, sending the game into halftime tied at 3-3.
University of Saint Joseph opened the third quarter with back-to-back goals, including a man-up tally from Brady Stevens at 13:50 and another from Pestrichello at 10:55 to claim a 5-3 advantage. The Monks responded with a decisive three-goal run, beginning with freshman Aidan Byrne (West Newbury, Mass.) at 9:55. Junior Nicolas Michaud (Wales, Maine) followed with a man-up goal at 2:47, and Southwick capped the surge at 1:37 off an assist from junior Aaron Mansfield (Wallingford, Conn.) to give Saint Joseph's a 6-5 lead entering the fourth.
Saint Joseph's carried that momentum into the final quarter, as junior Brandon Cavicchi (Kingston, Mass.) scored unassisted at 11:26 to extend the lead to 7-5. The Blue Jays pulled within one on a Freeman Johnson goal at 9:28, but Kiedaisch answered off a Plunske feed at 7:03, and the Monks locked down defensively from there, weathering a 10-3 shot disparity over the final seven minutes to secure the 8-6 victory.
STATS OF THE GAME:
Despite being outshot 50-22, Saint Joseph's controlled key possessions and capitalized on its opportunities, holding advantages in ground balls (35-30) and faceoffs (12-6) while converting 21-of-22 clear attempts.
THE KEEPERS:
Jake Dernier was outstanding, making 13 saves in the victory.
Noah Isleib made four saves for the Blue Jays, while Will Keegan stopped one shot in 2:05 of relief.
LEADERS – SAINT JOSEPH'S:
- Joseph Kiedaisch - 2 goals, 2 assists
- Maxwell Plunske - 1 goal, 1 assist, 3 ground balls
- Cody Southwick - 1 goal, 1 assist, 3 ground balls
- Brandon Cavicchi - 1 goal, 3 ground balls
- Chase Ranger (So., Farmington, Maine) - 1 assist, 2 ground balls, 1 caused turnover
- Tony Samiotes (Gr., Hampstead, N.H.) - 6 ground balls, 2 caused turnovers
- Alec Henry (So., Hampstead, N.H.) - 3 ground balls, 1 caused turnover
- Zander Kirk (Jr., West Bath, Maine) - 9 ground balls, 12-of-18 face-offs
LEADERS – UNIVERSITY OF SAINT JOSEPH:
- Nick Pestrichello - 3 goals, 3 ground balls
- Dominic Oakes - 3 assists
- Freeman Johnson - 1 goal, 4 ground balls
- Mason Koloski - 3 ground balls, 3 caused turnovers
- Michael Decker - 3 ground balls
- Vinny Pusateri III - 2 ground balls, 5 caused turnovers
HISTORICALLY SPEAKING:
With the win, Saint Joseph's improves to 2-5 all-time against the University of Saint Joseph, earning its first victory over the Blue Jays since a 16-15 triumph on April 14, 2023, and its first-ever win in West Hartford.
