HAMDEN, Conn.— In a highly-anticipated, in-state rivalry game, the Sacred Heart University men's lacrosse team remained undefeated in Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC) action, extending its win streak to seven with a 13-12 victory over Quinnipiac on the road on Wednesday afternoon.
With the win, Sacred Heart senior goalie
Alex Pazienza has tied the SHU Division I program record for victories in a season with nine. The Pioneers also extend their DI program win-streak record to 7-0, remaining atop the MAAC standings.
Records:
Sacred Heart: 9-4, 7-0 MAAC
Quinnipiac: 8-2, 4-2 MAAC
Top Performers:
Morgan O'Reilly: 4 goals, 2 assists (6 points)
Tucker Spencer: 3 goals, 1 assist (4 points)
Jake Ward: 3 goals (3 points)
Ryan Rooney: 1 goal, 1 assist (2 points)
MP Thomas: 13-20 face-off wins
Alex Pazienza: 12 saves
Of Note:
Despite outshooting the home team, 20-6, Sacred Heart trailed by one in the opening quarter, 3-2.
Morgan O'Reilly got the offense going with the first goal of the game at 9:39 for an early 1-0 edge. The Bobcats answered with back-to-back goals to take a 2-1 lead, but
Jake Ward scored his first of the day at 4:37 to tie it up 2-2. Quinnipiac added one more for the 3-2 advantage after the first.
The Pioneers kept the offensive pressure coming, outshooting Quinnipiac 23-9, scoring four goals in the second frame. The Bobcats scored first in the period to jump ahead by two, but SHU scored four straight to come from behind and take a 6-4 lead The Pios run consisted of back-to-back goals from O'Reilly and Ward, and a pair from
Tucker Spencer. Quinnipiac added two more to head into halftime tied up 6-6.
Sacred Heart opened the game up in the third, outscoring QU 4-1.
Will Moulton scored his first of the day less than a minute and a half into play to put SHU ahead by one.
Ryan Rooney added another one for the Pioneers to jump ahead by two, 8-6. Quinnipiac cut the deficit to one with a goal at 11:08 in the third, but Ward and
Michael Moreschi added a pair for SHU, giving the Pioneers a 10-7 advantage heading into the fourth.
O'Reilly completed his hat trick to open the fourth quarter at 11:03, giving the Pios their largest lead of the day at four, 11-7. Quinnipiac cut the deficit to three just a minute and a half later, but Spencer took advantage of a man-up opportunity to score his third of the day for the Pioneers to jump back ahead by four. The Bobcats scored back-to-back goals, cutting their deficit to two, with 7:25 on the clock. O'Reilly quickly answered for his fourth of the day at 6:47 to give Sacred Heart a 13-10 advantage. The final minutes were a nailbiter. Quinnipiac scored with 3:37 left to pull within two. An untimely penalty for SHU gave the Bobcats a man-up opportunity, which led to a home goal with 39 seconds left in the game.
Quinnipiac won the final face-off, but Pazienza came up with a huge save in the final 19 seconds to secure the 13-12 victory for SHU. The senior goalie had 12 saves on the day to tie the DI program record in wins.
Up Next:
Sacred Heart will be on the road again on Saturday, April 13, at Mount St. Mary's at noon
