LOUDONVILLE, NY – Siena Lacrosse withstood a late six-goal run as the Saints fended off LIU to post a 14-12 season-opening victory at Hickey Field. Leading returning scorer Jack Kiernan registered five points to headline a balanced attack for Siena which featured nine different goal scorers.
 
Colin Gleason, Brendan Lantieri, Dylan Pantalone, and Maurice Tessier scored two goals apiece for Siena who held a 49-33 advantage in shots. Anthony Tebbano made 12 saves in goal to quarterback a Saints' defense which forced 23 turnovers.
 
Sean Boll tallied five goals for perennial Division II power LIU, who was making its return to the Division I ranks. Will Snelders dished out five assists en route to a game-high six points, while Will Mark made 18 saves in goal for the Sharks.
 
Siena led throughout and by as many as seven goals. The Saints scored seven of the first eight goals and led 8-4 at the break while out-shooting LIU 29-15 in the stanza.
 
Siena extended its lead to as large as 13-6 on a Brett Habich goal off the fourth assist of the game from Kiernan with 4:46 remaining in the third quarter. But the Sharks would respond with six unanswered goals, holding the Saints' potent offense off the scoreboard for 15:43 to rally all the way back within a goal at 13-12 with nine minutes remaining.
 
However, Siena buckled down defensively down the stretch and Christian Watts scored a key insurance goal with 4:03 remaining to preserve the season-opening win.
 
The Saints return to action next Saturday at 1 p.m. when they travel to Hobart.