(Photo Courtesy of Marist Athletics)
A Siena shot from the stick of George Rusnak hit the post with 12:21 left in the game. Marist’s Ryan McDaniel grabbed the rock on the long rebound and pushed it upfield to Tyler Ammirato, who fed Jake Deacy for the transition goal to make it an 11-9 game in favor of the Red Foxes.
Dylan Pape (12-for-24, 50%) won the ensuing faceoff for Siena but it would once again be an empty possession for the Saints as Marist SSDM Keenan DeRaeve got his stick in the passing lane, gained possession, and sprinted down field where he fed and open Jake Deacy for his second goal of the day. Less than a minute later, Marist was putting home another transition score as Anthony Filippetti caused a turnover on Pratt Reynolds and found Aidan McCaffery for an energizing pole goal in close.
That early fourth quarter spurt saw the Red Foxes score three goals in less than two minutes and helped them put this game away as they took down Siena 14-11 in a nationally televised midweek tilt between conference rivals.
JoJo Pirreca led the Red Foxes with five points off three goals and two assists while Jamison Embury (2G/1A), Joshua Balcarcel (2G), Peter Murray (2G), and Jake Deacy (2G) all contributed to the wealth of scoring Marist received with eight players fining the back of the net.
Dylan Bedell went 12-for-21 (61%) at the faceoff dot.
A JoJo Pirreca goal late in the first was sandwiched in between a pair of Peter Murray scores and gave Marist its first lead of the day, 5-4. From that point on, the Red Foxes would never trail again as they held a 6-4 edge at the end of the first and led by one at the half (7-6) and entering the final frame (10-9). Those one-goal deficits and a 7-7 tie following a Ryan McCarthy goal early in the third quarter are as close as Siena got to getting back in front.
It was the Marist defense that led the the way in the win. The Red Foxes’ caused nine of Siena’s 17 turnovers, which included three of their six in the fourth quarter. Marist also held Siena off the board for a roughly 13-minute stretch in the first half and a nearly nine-minute stretch in the second half.
Anchoring that defense was senior goalie Daniel O’Meara, who made his second ever start on Wednesday afternoon. O’Meara ended the contest with 15 saves. Eight of those stops came during the second half of play, where he faced a barrage of 26 shots (13 on cage) from a desperate Siena offense trying to get back in front.
Ryan McCarthy had a hat trick for Siena while George Rusnak (2G/2A) and Zac Schuette (2G/1A) had four and three points, respectively.
Chris Yanchoris made 14 saves in cage for the Saints.
With the win, Marist moves to 5-7 overall on the season and 4-3 in MAAC play. Siena drops to 5-6 on the year with a 3-4 record in MAAC play. Marist will face LIU on the road on Saturday while Siena will travel to Manhattan.
Simon Moore’s Game-Winner Lifts VMI Past Wagner
Brendan Higgins caused a turnover on VMI’s AJ Stamos with 1:26 left to give Wagner a late possession. Coming out of a timeout, the Seahawks would convert as Jack Brady put one past Adam Norris to make it a 10-10 game with 54 seconds left.
Will Rogers won the ensuing faceoff for VMI and Will Duffy would get a shot off with 15 seconds remaining. However, Danny Brady was there for what would be his 22nd save of the day. The Keydets would be able to get the rebound and as the clock ticked down and it looked like overtime was inevitable, Hartley Jordan flipped the rock to Simon Moore who took a few steps in, shot around an sliding defender, and scored just as the buzzer sounded to secure the 11-10 victory.
In what was a tight game from start to finish, VMI outscore Wagner 7-6 in the final two frames with Moore’s game-winner being the difference.
A pair from Will Duffy early in the third game VMI its first lead of the day at 7-6. And while a pair of scores from Benjamin Stewart and Jack Beady put Wagner back ahead 8-7 with 5:22 in the third, VMI would answer with a three-goal run that saw Hartley Jordan, Luke Mryncza, and Luke Rusterucci each score in a nearly eight minute stretch that spanned from late in the third through early in the fourth.
That run pulled VMI ahead 10-8 and the Keydets would never trail again as Wagner’s two late ties were all they would get.
Adam Norris made 10 saves in cage to anchor the VMI defense. That included Norris’ late, game-preserving save in the dying minutes.
Luke Rusterucci (2G/2A) led the way for the Keydets with four points. Will Duffy had a hat trick. Jack Rogers went 17-for-22 (77%) at the dot.
Jack Brady led Wagner with four goals
VMI moves to 6-7 on the season and 3-4 in MAAC play with the win. It marks the most overall and conference wins for the Keydets since 2008. Wagner drops to 2-10 on the season and 1-6 in MAAC play.
VMI moves to play Quinnipiac at home on Saturday. Wagner travels to Canisius on Saturday.
Mount St. Mary’s Extends Winning Streak to Six
Mount St. Mary’s won its six consecutive game on Wednesday afternoon as they took down Canisius 15-13 in a conference clash.
Jared McMahon led the Mountaineers five points off four goals and an assist while Jeremy Wilson (2G/2A) had four points. Kelly Gouin netted a hat trick.
LSM Steven Schmitt had a monster day on the back end, recording 12 ground balls and causing five caused turnovers. He also had a goal. Griffin McGinley anchored that Mountaineers defense with eight saves on the day.
Mount Saint Mary’s came out of the gate strong, pulling out to an 8-2 lead with 9:47 remaining in the second quarter. The Mountaineers led 9-3 at the half. However, it would be Canisius who would dominate the second half of play as the Golden Griffins outscored the Mountaineers 10-6 through the final two frames.
Chipping away at the lead throughout the second half, it was an Ethan Coughlin score with 8:31 remaining that not only capped an 8-2 Golden Griffins run that dated back to the 9:33 mark of the third quarter, but tied things up 13-13.
Micah Hanson (13-for-32, 40%) won the ensuing faceoff but a quick turnover prevented the Golden Griffins from getting another settled possession. Jared McMahon put one in the back of the cage less than a minute later to put the Mountaineers back up 14-13. A Connor Beals (17-for-29, 58%) faceoff win led to a Jeremy Wilson score that made it a 15-13 game with 7:05 remaining.
That would be the final score as neither side was able to convert during those final seven minutes and change. That stretch was mostly a long defensive stand from the Mountaineers as Canisius had possession for all but a minute or so during those final 7:05. Canisius got off nine shots during that final stretch, sending five wide, hitting one post, and seeing three get saved my Griffin McGinley.
Keegan Kozack (3G/1A) led Canisius with four points. Colin Kelly had a hat trick. Tommy Kunz made 11 saves to anchor the Canisius defense.
Mount Saint Mary’s (7-6, 6-1 MAAC) moves to play at Sacred Heart on Saturday. Canisius (2-11, 1-6 MAAC) will face Wagner at home on Saturday.
Fourth Quarter Execution Helps Manhattan Past LIU
Manhattan moved to 9-3 on the season and 6-1 in MAAC play on Wednesday as the Jaspers took down the LIU Sharks 14-10. The last three of those conference wins have seen the Jaspers own the fourth quarter, outscoring the opposition 11-3 during the final frame in each of those wins.
On Wednesday, Manhattan outscored the Sharks 4-2 in the final frame to stay ahead and take home that win. Three of those scores came in a row as Dan MacKinney, Quinn Bowler, and Drew Hiner each found the back of the net to make it a 13-9 game with 9:22 remaining.
Dan MacKinney later put in the final goal of the game for Manhattan to end the contest with a hat trick. Kyle Gucwa (2G/5A) tallied seven points to lead the way for the Jaspers offense.
LIU cut the Jaspers lead to one five times (1-2, 5-6, 6-7, 7-8, 9-10) but was unable to ever tie it up or get ahead at any point in the game.
Joseph Persico made 12 saves in cage to anchor the Manhattan defense. Four of those saves came during the fourth quarter.
Sean Boll (3G/1A) led LIU. Shaun Hill went 11-for-19 (57%) at the faceoff dot.
Manhattan moves to face Siena at home on Saturday. LIU (5-7, 4-3 MAAC) will host Marist on Saturday.
Sacred Heart Tops Quinnipiac
The Sacred Heart Pioneers defeated the Quinnipiac Bobcats 13-11 on Wednesday night to make their third consecutive victory. It is the first time since 2019 that the Pioneers have won more than two games in a row. The win also marks the first time Sacred Heart has reached four wins in league play since that 2019 season.
Morgan O’Reilly led the way for the Pioneers with a career-high seven goals on 10 shots. Three of his scores came during the middle of the game where the Pioneers went on a 5-2 run to pull ahead 8-5 with 5:10 remaining in the third quarter.
Alex Pazienza made 13 saves to anchor the Sacred Heart defense.
Quinnipiac outscored Sacred Heart 7-6 in the second half after seeing the Pioneers take a 7-4 lead at the half. However, the Bobcats were never able to regain the lead after losing it following being up 1-0 early on. Quinnipiac tied it a 10-10 with 9:39 left off a John Delucia score but was never able to get in front.
A three-goal Sacred Heart run that saw a Jake Garb score sandwiched between a pair of O’Reilly scores put them back up 13-10 with 5:18 left and helped put this one away.
Quinnipiac got off five shots in the final four minutes of the game but only one got passed Alex Pazienza. That lone goal came off the stick of Jake Tellers with 1:10 left and would be the final score of the game.
Steven Germain (2G/2A) and Jake Tellers (3G) led the way for Quinnipiac. Demitri George went 18-for-28 (64%) at the faceoff dot.
Sacred Heart (4-8, 4-3 MAAC) moves to face Mount St. Mary’s at home on Saturday. Quinnipiac (5-6, 3-4 MAAC) travels to face VMI on Saturday.
Cleveland State Edges Queens
Leading 11-8 with 9:20 left after a man-up score from Hunter Meyer and having scored nine of the last 13 goals since the second half started, it looked like Queens was writing the script for its second ASUN win. However, despite the Royals’ dominance to start the second half of play, the visiting Vikings would be able to strike back.
A three-goal Cleveland State run that saw a Ryan Haig goal sandwiched in between two Brendan Sigurdson scores tied things up at 11-11. Hunter Meyer answered for Queens to get them back up one (12-11) but that would be the last goal of the game for the Royals.
Cleveland State, who had held a 6-2 lead early in the third quarter and hadn’t led since the 8:34 mark of that aforementioned frame, got a pair of late scores from Brendan Sigurdson and Gannon Matthews to secure the win. Matthews’ game-winner came with just seven seconds left on the clock and was preceded by a Karson Burkey caused turnover to end Queens’ last possession and give Cleveland State that one last chance.
Gannon Matthews (3G/3A) had six points to lead Cleveland State. Jack Royer had five goals for Queens.
Cleveland State (5-5, 3-3 ASUN) host Bellarmine on Saturday. Queens (2-9, 1-5 ASUN) host Robert Morris on Saturday.
Other Games
- Cornell best Marquette 21-11 on Tuesday. CJ Kiest (6G/2A) had eight points while Billy Coyle (2G/4A) had four and Michael Long (2G/2A) had four.
- Jacksonville topped Detroit Mercy 17-7 on Wednesday afternoon.
- Utah blasted Lindenwood 22-8.
- Taggart Clark (2G/4A) led Robert Morris in its 21-13 win over Bellarmine.
Lacrosse Bucket 