Men’s Lacrosse Secures Playoff Berth with 9-4 over Mt. St. Mary

Patchogue, NY| The St. Joseph's College (L.I.) men's lacrosse team secured a Skyline Conference Championship berth with a 9-4 win over Mount St. Mary College at Danzi Stadium on Friday afternoon.

With the victory, the Golden Eagles improve to 4-3 overall and in Skyline Conference play and enter the playoffs as either the third or fourth seed, depending on results elsewhere Friday evening. The Knights (1-3) see their playoff hopes dashed. 

Fresh off a six-goal performance vs. Purchase earlier in the week, junior Tim McCann tallied four times and added two helpers to power the SJC offense. 

Junior Robert Lopez contributed one goal, two assists, and five ground balls, and sophomore Jack Gilbride went for one goal, one assist and four ground balls.

Senior Vincent Raccuglia recorded a game-high six ground balls, four caused turnovers, and one goal, and senior Jesse McKeever was credited with two assists and four ground balls.

Keeper Andrew Brust made nine saves on 13 shots and sophomore Tim Bruno won 10 of 15 faceoffs. 

A hot start saw the Golden Eagles tally three times in the first quarter with marks from McCann (2x) and Raccuglia (3-0). 

Freshman Shawn Castro extended the hosts' lead to four goals with a goal 50 seconds into the second quarter, but the Knights cut the deficit in half soon after with a pair of goals from Brian Esposito (4-2).

Up 6-2 at the start of the third, SJC pulled ahead 8-2 with goals from McCann and junior Matt Trautman before riding out a 9-4 victory. 

St. Joseph's outshot Mount St. Mary 29-22 in the contest and held an 11-6 edge in faceoffs. The Knights scooped up 41 ground balls, topping SJC's tally of 36.

The Golden Eagles will play a Skyline Conference Championship semifinal contest this coming Wednesday, May 5 at either Farmingdale State or SUNY Maritime. More details to follow.