FAIRFIELD, Conn.— After picking up its first Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC) postseason victory on Thursday over Siena 15-13 in the semifinals, the Sacred Heart University men's lacrosse team will make its first championship game appearance on Saturday, May 4. The top-seeded Pioneers will take on the third-seeded Jaspers of Manhattan College at 11:00 am at Gaelic Park in Riverdale, N.Y.
 
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THE MATCHUP
The Pioneers and Jaspers meet for the second time this season after SHU defeated Manhattan at home 14-12 in the regular season.
Sacred Heart came from behind to take the victory over Manhattan on March 16. Sal Miccio had four goals and three assists, and Morgan O'Reilly had four goals to surge the Pios after trailing by two (12-10) heading into the fourth. SHU scored four goals and shut out Manhattan in the final frame to win 14-12 at home.
This is the first MAAC postseason meeting between the two teams, but the 16th meeting overall. SHU is favored in the all-time series at 10-5 against the Jaspers, dating back to 1999. 
Sacred Heart is riding a 10-game win streak after picking up its first MAAC postseason win on Thursday with a 15-13 victory in the semifinals over #5 Siena. Manhattan took down #2 LIU in its semifinal match-up on Thursday. 

PIOS IN POSTSEASON
After picking up its first MAAC postseason win on Thursday, SHU will make its first championship game appearance in program history, eyeing its first conference championship as well. 
The Pioneers are in the MAAC postseason tournament for the second straight season. After going undefeated in conference play at 9-0, the Pios claimed their first-ever regular season title.
The 10-game win streak is the longest in program history, landing SHU the number one seed in the MAAC Postseason Tournament.
The 2023 season was SHU's first year in the MAAC for men's lacrosse, making its first postseason appearance since the 2019 Northeast Conference Semifinal. During its time in the NEC, SHU made four semifinal appearances since the NEC's inaugural men's lax season in 2011. 

TEAM NOTABLES
The Pioneers are in the midst of their most successful season in program history. 
Their 12 wins is a new program record for wins in a season. 
The 10-game win streak is the longest in program history. 
Morgan O'Reilly is tied for first in the nation in goals with 52, a new single-season scoring record for SHU.
Alex Pazienza holds the program record for wins in a season at 12. He made a career-high 19 saves in the Pios semifinal victory over Siena.  

POSTSEASON AWARDS 
SHU brought in three major award winners and eight All-MAAC selections, the most postseason recognition in program history. 
Morgan O'Reilly was named the MAAC Player of the Year, Zach Buffington was named the LSM of the Year, and Head Coach Jon Basti was voted Coach of the Year. 
Buffington, O'Reilly, and Carson Spooner were placed on the All-MAAC first team. 
Jake Ward, Jack Ramsay, Alex Pazienza, and Luke Romanek earned a spot on the All-MAAC second team. First-year James Moran was named to the All-MAAC rookie team.
O'Reilly is SHU's third Player of the Year, and Coach Basti brings in his first-ever Coach of the Year honor. 

ON THE SIDELINES
Head coach Jon Basti is in his 10th season as head coach of the Pioneers. He came to SHU after serving as the associate head coach at the University of Hartford from 2009-13. His coaching career began at Sacred Heart as an assistant coach from 2000-02 before taking the head coach position at Eastern Connecticut State for two seasons, leading ECSU to a pair of Little East Conference titles and two NCAA Tournament appearances. Basti is a graduate of Fairfield University and was a member of the Stags' 1996 & 1997 MAAC Championship teams. He also received his master's degree from Fairfield and returned in 2005 as an assistant coach for three seasons. 

MORE ON THE PIOS
Senior Morgan O'Reilly leads the team and is tied for first in the nation with 52 goals. He has 65 points and 13 assists. O'Reilly is third in the nation in goals per game at 3.25 and is tied for third in man-up goals at eight. 
Junior Jake Ward is another offensive threat for the Pios. He is second on the team in points at 52, coming from 31 goals and a team-leading 21 assists. He was named to the All-MAAC second team this season. 
Carson Spooner and Zach Buffington play a huge role in SHU's midfield unit. Buffington, named the MAAC LSM of the Year and All-MAAC first team, is second on the team in caused turnovers (12) and is second in ground balls (44). He has two points from a goal and an assist. Spooner was also named to the first team, tallying 39 points from 22 goals and 17 assists.   
Luke Romanek is having a fantastic first season on the faceoff unit for Sacred Heart. He has the top faceoff percentage in the MAAC at .563 and has a record of 169-300. His 169 wins is ranked 25th in the country. Romanek leads the team in ground balls (85). 
On the defensive end, Jack Ramsay and Alex Pazienza were named to the All-MAAC second team. Ramsay leads the team in caused turnovers with 17 and has collected 26 ground balls. Pazienza is one of the top goalies in the country. He posts a 9.61 goals against average, which is 11th in the nation. His .558 save percentage is second in the MAAC and 12th in the country. 

PIOS BREAKING RECORDS
Sacred Heart is having a record-breaking season. The Pios have won the most games in program history (12). Morgan O'Reilly set the single-season goal record (52). Tucker Spencer set the single-season record for man-up goals with nine, which is the nation's most this season. Alex Pazienza has the SHU D1 record for wins in a season (12). 

TOP IN THE NATION
The Pios are well represented in the national stat categories. Morgan O'Reilly is tied for first in the country in goals (52) and is third in goals per game (3.25). Tucker Spencer is first in the country in man-up goals with nine, and O'Reilly is tied for third with eight.  Alex Pazienza is 11th with his 9.61 GAA, and his save percentage of .558 is 12th in the country. As a team, SHU is fifth in clearing percentage .910, 24th in faceoff win percentage (.536), 17th in points per game (21.31), ninth in scoring defense (9.47 per game), 12th in scoring offense (9.69), ninth in scoring margin (4.19), and ninth in winning percentage (.750).