Men's Lacrosse Secures GNAC South Division Top Seed, Defeats Rival Albertus Magnus, 16-4

NEW HAVEN, Conn. – The University of Saint Joseph (USJ) men's lacrosse team rounded out the 2024 regular season in convincing fashion, taking down rival Albertus Magnus College (AMC), 16-4, during Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) South Division play Wednesday night at Celentano Field in New Haven, Conn. With the win and results elsewhere, the Blue Jays locked up the No. 1 seed in the upcoming GNAC Playoffs. Sophomore midfielder Nick Pestrichello (Newington, Conn.) also had a career day, recording his 100th career point on the night. With the result the Blue Jays move to 13-3 overall on the year, 9-1 in GNAC play and 5-1 in the South, while the Falcons concluded their season at 3-12 overall, 1-9 in the GNAC and 1-5 in the South.

KEY MOMENTS 

• The Blue Jays wasted little time finding the back of the net, as freshman attack Brendan Tedeschi (Orange, Vt.) scored the opening goal at the 13:13 mark.
• AMC answered back at the 11:45 mark, but Pestrichello reestablished a USJ lead, 2-1, with his first goal of the game with 11:01 on the clock.
• Junior midfielder Christian Decker (Bristol, Conn.) doubled the advantage at the 7:41 mark, scoring a man-up goal to increase the lead to 3-1.
• The scoring run continued, as Decker netted his second straight goal at the 5:55 mark, before dishing out an assist to senior attack Ryan Paltauf (Southbury, Conn.), who found the back of the net with 5:10 on the clock, sending USJ into the second quarter with a 5-1 edge.
• Tedeschi carried the momentum into the second, scoring an unassisted goal at the 12:31 mark, increasing the gap to 6-1.
• The Falcons tried to fight back, scoring two unanswered goals to claw back within three, 6-3, with 9:05 left in the half.
• Freshman attack Matthew Wurszt (Wilbraham, Mass.) put an end to the hosts momentum, rifling a shoot into the goal off a pass from Tedeschi, increasing the advantage back to four, 7-3, at the 8:23 mark.
• Decker rounded out his hattrick with 7:02 left in the half, scoring off a pass from Paltauf to send USJ into the locker room with an 8-3 edge.
• USJ dominated the third quarter, as Paltauf, senior midfielder Sam Barbetti (Guilford, Conn.), junior attack Evan Zimnoch (Southington, Conn.), freshman midfielder Nolan Brown (Norwich, Conn.) and Pestrichello, who recorded his 100th career point with his goal with 34 seconds left in the third, all found the back of the net, increasing the gap to 14-3 entering the final quarter.
• Decker continued to offensive onslaught in the fourth, scoring at the 12:09 mark to establish a 15-3 edge.
• AMC would find the back of the net late, but freshman attack Quinn Perkins (Norwich, Conn.) quickly fired back with a goal of his own to move the score to 16-4 with 9:04 on the clock.
• The Blue Jays would hold off the Falcons for the remainder of the game, taking home a 16-4 victory.

NOTES 

• Paltauf paced the team with six points off two goals and four assists.
• Decker netted a game-high four goals.
• Pestrichello also recorded a hattrick.
• Barbetti corralled a game-high seven ground balls.
• Six different Blue Jays caused a team-best two turnovers.
• Senior Trey McCann (Simsbury, Conn.) got the win in the cage for USJ, recording four saves in 47:51 minutes of play.
• Freshman Noah Isleib (Easton, Mass.) played the remainder of the game in goal, making three saves.
• The 13 wins in a single season are now the most in program history.

UP NEXT

The top-seeded Blue Jays begin the GNAC Playoffs on Saturday, April 26 with a Quarterfinal matchup against North Division No. 4 seed Emmanuel College. Opening faceoff against the Saints on the USJ Lacrosse Field in West Hartford, Conn., is slated for 3:00 p.m.

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