RIVERDALE, N.Y.—The Sacred Heart University men's lacrosse team captured its first-ever conference title on Saturday afternoon, taking down Manhattan College 11-5 in the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC) Championship game. The Pioneers' historic season continues, winning their 11th straight game and earning the team's first bid to the NCAA Tournament. 

Alex Pazienza was named the tournament's most outstanding player after finishing with 15 saves in the title game to lead the Pios to their first championship. Tucker Spencer led SHU offensively with a career-high six goals and was named to the all-tournament team. 

Morgan O'Reilly and Carson Spooner also earned a spot on the all-tournament squad.  

Records:
Sacred Heart: 13-4, 9-0 MAAC
Manhattan: 8-9, 6-3 MAAC

Top Performers:
Tucker Spencer: 6 goals (6 points)
Morgan O'Reilly:  2 goals 1 assist (3 points) 
Carson Spooner: 1 goal, 2 assists (3 points) 
Michael Moreschi: 1 goal, 2 assists (3 points) 
Jake Ward: 3 assists (3 points) 
Alex Pazienza: 15 saves 
MP Thomas: 8 faceoff wins, 6 ground balls

Of Note: 
The Pioneers found themselves in a deficit early on as Manhattan opened the game with three consecutive goals in the first five minutes of play. Sophomore Michael Moreschi got Sacred Heart on the board at 7:25, and Spooner added another one at 2:55 to cut the deficit to one, 3-2. Manhattan immediately won the faceoff and went down to score, jumping ahead by two. Cam Brown took advantage of a man-up opportunity and scored for the Pioneers with 25 seconds left in the opening frame, pulling within one, 4-3 heading into the second. 

Spencer put away his first of the day at 9:22 in the second to tie the game up at 4-4, and it was all Sacred Heart from there. O'Reilly and Spencer scored back-to-back goals, and the defense shut out Manhattan as the Pioneers took a 6-4 advantage at the half. 

Sacred Heart added four more goals in the third, including three from Spencer and one from O'Reilly. Pazienza was a brick wall in between the pipes for Sacred Heart, tallying five saves in the third and holding the Jaspers scoreless as SHU went into the final period with a 10-4 lead. 

Spencer scored his final goal of the day, capping the Pios nine-goal run, 24 seconds into the fourth quarter to give SHU its largest lead of the day at 11-4. 

Manhattan broke their 43-minute scoring drought at 4:06 in the fourth, but Sacred Heart was able to secure the win and take home the first title in program history with its 11-5 victory. 

The Pioneers went 2-for-2 on man-up opportunities, and MP Thomas was 8-for-15 on the faceoff x with six ground balls for the Pios. Spencer could not be stopped, scoring 100% of his shots, 6-for-6. 

Up Next:
Sacred Heart will make its first appearance in the NCAA Tournament. The selection show is slated for Sunday, May 5, at 9:30 pm and will stream on ESPN2.