FAIRFIELD, Conn. – Junior midfielder Brian Masi tied a career-high with six points Saturday as the Sacred Heart men's lacrosse team fell 11-8 to the Providence Friars at Campus Field.

Masi led the Pioneers with three goals and three assists on the day. Alex Dodge and Max Tuttle each had a pair of goals. Mike Calvagna won 13 of 22 faceoffs and had five groundballs. Nick Albanese had five groundballs as well. Freshman goalie Greg Price had 11 saves in his first career start.

Sacred Heart (2-4) scored first as Masi assisted on a Julian Garritano man-up goal with 8:35 remaining in the opening quarter. Masi extended the lead to 2-0 2:10 later. Providence (3-2) cut the deficit to one with 5:26 to play in the first on a goal by Keenan Assaraf. The Pioneers struck again on the extra-man with 10:45 to play in the second quarter, with Dodge sticking a Masi pass past Providence goalie Tate Bryce to make the score 3-1. The Friars came back to take a 4-3 lead before halftime. Will Mazzone and Conner Byrne combined for three goals in the span of 2:31 to give Providence the lead with 4:19 left in the half.

The Pioneers and Friars traded goals to start the third quarter, as two Tuttle goals tied the game 5-5 with 11:22 to go in the period. Providence would go on another run, scoring four straight goals to end the quarter with a 9-5 lead. Sacred Heart responded with a 3-0 run of their own to start the fourth quarter. Dodge started the rally with his ninth of the season at the 8:16 mark. Masi then scored with 6:13 to play to make the score 9-7. Less than a minute later, Masi struck again with an assist from Joe Saggese to cut the deficit to one, 9-8, with 5:19 to play. That would be as close as Sacred Heart would get. The Friars tacked on two goals in the final three minutes for the 11-8 win. 

Sacred Heart outshot Providence 40-31 for the game as each team had 28 groundballs. The Friars had 11 turnovers and forced 19 Pioneers turnovers. Sacred Heart was 2-for-7 on the extra-man as Providence was 2-for-3. Mazzone, Assaraf, and Conner Byrne each had two goals for the Friars.

The Pioneers travel to Vermont on Saturday, March 12 for a 1 p.m. game.

FIRST QUARTER

- Garritano's goal was his fourth of the season.

- The Pioneers outshot Providence 11-7 for the quarter.

- Price made five of his 11 saves in the quarter.

- SHU has held 2-0 leads in both home games this season. 

SECOND QUARTER

- Calvagna won four of five faceoffs in the second.

- The Friars' 3-0 run to take the lead came in 2:31. 

THIRD QUARTER

- Tuttle's two goals tied a career-high set in the season-opener at Lafayette.

- Providence scored twice in the final 12 seconds to take a 9-5 lead.

FOURTH QUARTER 

- Dodge's goal at the 8:16 mark ended a 17:56 goalless drought for SHU.

- Calvagna won five of six faceoffs in the fourth.

- SHU was 0-for-3 on the extra-man in the final quarter.