Fox’s Six Goals, Daria’s 20 Saves Lead Pioneers Past Mount St. Mary’s

Saturday, March 14

Emmitsburg, MD

12:00 PM

Sacred Heart

8-0, 3-0

Mount St. Mary's (Md.)

1-7, 0-3

Sacred Heart

Mt. St. Mary's

Fox’s Six Goals, Daria’s 20 Saves Lead Pioneers Past Mount St. Mary’s

3/14/2026 2:53:00 PM | Men's Lacrosse

Box Score

EMMITSBURG, Md. — Behind a career-high six goals from junior JJ Fox and a career-best 20 saves from senior Craig Daria, the Sacred Heart University men's lacrosse team defeated Mount St. Mary's, 17-9, on Saturday afternoon in Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC) action. With the win, the Pioneers remain undefeated and extend their winning streak to seven games.

Records:
Sacred Heart: 7-0 (2-0 MAAC)
Mount: 1-6 (0-2 MAAC)

Stat Leaders:
JJ Fox: 6 goals
Matt Pepe: 3 goals, 2 assists
Tommy Bull: 1 goal, 2 assists
Garrett Mangels: 1 goal, 1 assist
John Murray: 1 goal, 1 assist
Ryan Grove: 13-25 faceoffs, 7 ground balls, 1 goal
Craig Daria: 20 saves, 7 ground balls

How it happened:
Mount St. Mary's struck first early in the opening quarter, but Sacred Heart responded with three straight goals to take a 3-1 lead. The Mountaineers answered to pull within one before Matt Pepe netted his second goal of the day to extend the Pioneer advantage to 4-2. Mount St. Mary's scored back-to-back goals late in the quarter to tie the game at 4-4 heading into the second.

Fox opened the second quarter scoring with his first goal of the day, followed by a tally from James Moran to give Sacred Heart a 6-4 edge. After the teams traded goals, Fox added his second of the afternoon to send the Pioneers into halftime with an 8-6 lead.

Sacred Heart pulled away in the third quarter. Jake Holmes scored the first goal of his career to open the period and make it 9-6. Mount St. Mary's answered to trim the deficit to two, but the Pioneers closed the quarter with four straight goals, including two from Fox, to build a 13-7 lead heading into the final frame.

The Pioneers continued their run in the fourth quarter as Fox recorded his fifth goal of the game, followed by a strike from Pepe to extend the lead to 15-7. Mount St. Mary's added a goal midway through the quarter, but Fox responded with his sixth of the day before Koen Rose tallied the first goal of his career. The Mountaineers added a late goal in the final minute, but Sacred Heart secured the 17-9 victory to remain unbeaten.

Sophomore Ryan Grove controlled the faceoff X, winning 13 of 25, while collecting seven ground balls and adding a goal.

Daria delivered a career performance with 20 saves and seven ground balls. He is the first Pioneer goalkeeper to reach 20 saves since Nicky Labanca recorded 21 against UMass Lowell during the 2022 season.

Up Next:
Sacred Heart returns home on Saturday, March 21, hosting Canisius at Campus Field at noon.