FAIRFIELD, Conn. – Senior midfielder Brian Masi scored the game-winning goal 0:54 into overtime Saturday to give the Sacred Heart men's lacrosse team a 12-11 win over the Saint Joseph's hawks at Campus Field. 

Masi's game-winner completed a hat trick for him. Joe Saggesse led the Pioneers with three assists and five points. Julian Garritano and Max Tuttle both had two goals and an assist. Bryce Jurk also had three points on a goal and two assists. Defensively, Matt Caracappa had four caused turnovers and four groundballs. Ryan O'Donoghue also had four caused turnovers with a pair of groundballs. Brooks Dutton made 10 saves in goal.

Saint Joseph's (3-9, 0-4 NEC) took a 2-1 lead with 11:22 to play in the opening quarter on goals by Hayes McGinley and James Bohlinger. Sacred Heart tied the game 2-2 at the 8:10 mark on a Saggesse goal assisted by Tuttle. Tuttle then scored a man-up goal with 1:59 to play in the first to give the Pioneers a 3-2 lead. The Hawks scored two straight goals to open the second quarter, going up 4-3. SHU then got goals from Masi and Saggese to take a 5-4 lead with 6:53 to go. Saint Joseph's ended the half on a 3-0 run, with two goals from the stick of Chris Blewitt, to take a 7-5 halftime lead.

After a slow start to the third quarter, Sacred Heart (7-4, 3-2 NEC) exploded for five goals in the final five minutes. Masi started the run with his second goal of the game at the 4:30 mark. Jake Giaquinto won the ensuing faceoff, taking the ball all the way to score seven seconds later to tie the game 7-7. He then won the next faceoff as well to Chase Godfrey, who scored his first goal of the season with 4:08 to go to put SHU back in the lead 8-7. Garritano and Jurk both scored in the final minute to give the Pioneers a 10-7 lead heading into the fourth.

The Hawks scored three unanswered goals in the fourth quarter to tie the game 10-10. Bohlinger and McGinley scored 0:53 to tie the game with 5:19 to play. Garritano put the Pioneers back in front with 4:36 to go as his goal assisted by Jurk made the score 11-10. Saint Joseph's had a chance to force overtime when Bill Sledge was called for slashing with 0:14 left in regulation. The Hawks needed just nine seconds on the man-up before Ray Vandegrift scored to tie the game 11-11. 

The Pioneers won the faceoff to open overtime. After a Tuttle shot went wide, Jurk corralled the groundball and found Masi in front of the crease for the game-winning goal.

Saint Joseph's outshot Sacred Heart 31-27 and held a 36-33 advantage in groundballs. Both teams were 1-for-3 on extra-man opportunities. Blewitt had a hat trick and five points for the Hawks. Bohlinger and McGinley both had two goals.

The Pioneers are on the road on Tuesday, April 18 at Hartford. Gametime is 7 p.m.