PROVIDENCE, R.I. – Saint Joseph's College (4-3, 2-1 GNAC) defeated Johnson & Wales University (1-2, 1-2 GNAC), 16-8, in a Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) men's lacrosse contest on Saturday afternoon.

HOW IT HAPPENED:

Clinging to a 4-3 edge two minutes into the third quarter, the Monks rattled off six unanswered goals to secure a 10-3 cushion with 2:13 left in the penultimate period. Chris Calisto snapped the SJC scoring surge with a tally at the 1:55 mark, but St. Joe's essentially put the game out of reach with three strikes – including a pair from senior Shane Puleo (Nashua, N.H.) – in the final 75 seconds of the third quarter.

TEAM STATS:

Saint Joseph's held the lead in shots (43-33), shots on goal (26-19), ground balls (39-36), and face-off victories (19-9) on the afternoon.

THE KEEPERS:

SJC starter Michael Janocha (Southampton, Mass.) picked up the win after making seven saves in 50:32 of play while sophomore Brannon Gilbert (Gray, Maine) turned away four shots in 9:28 of relief. JWU starter Chris April made four stops in 23:27 between the pipes while Andrew Costa notched six saves in 36:33 minutes.

LEADERS – SAINT JOSEPH'S:

• Puleo scored four goals with three assists and two ground balls
• Sophomore Max Lacy (Salisbury, N.H.) netted four goals with an assist
• Freshman Jacob Radwan (Strafford, N.H.) added a goal and two assists with a pair of ground balls
• Freshman Zavier Balzano (Otisfield, Maine), sophomore Xavier Michaud (Wales, Maine), and senior Glenn Dion (Pembroke, N.H.) scored two goals apiece
• Defensively, Alex Osmanski (Abington, Mass.) posted five ground balls and two caused turnovers, Eli Arsenault (Saco, Maine) notched six ground balls, and Nathan Landry (Derry, N.H.)  added three caused turnovers
• Freshman Ian Barker (Norton, Mass.) was 9-for-9 on face-off attempts with three ground balls

LEADERS – JOHNSON & WALES:

• Joe McIntyre registered two goals and an assist with five ground balls
• Calisto netted two goals
• Mike Catuosco scored a goal with seven ground balls and three caused turnovers
• Andrew Carroll added five ground balls and four caused turnovers

HISTORICALLY SPEAKING:

With the win, Saint Joseph's improves to 5-3 all-time versus Johnson & Wales University. The Wildcats topped the Monks, 11-8, in a GNAC Tournament quarterfinal in the last meeting (4/27/19) between the conference rivals.

NEXT!

Saint Joseph's continues conference play with a game at Rivier University on Wednesday at 7:00 PM.

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