EMMITSBURG, Md. — Siena Men's Lacrosse checked off another one of their season goals by clinching at least a share of the MAAC Regular Season Championship by securing a 14–12 victory over Mount St. Mary's on Saturday at Waldron Family Stadium.
Siena (11-3, 7-0 MAAC) raised their eighth MAAC Regular Season title and second consecutive. The Saints have assured themselves that it will host the MAAC Semifinals on Thursday, April 30 as well as the MAAC Men's Lacrosse Championship on Saturday, May 2 at 12 p.m. That game will be broadcast on ESPNU.
The Mountaineers dropped to 3-10 and 2-6 in MAAC play.
The Saints had another high-volume shooting day with a 59-39 shots advantage including 34-19 for shots on goal. Winning 19-of-25 face offs, Siena sophomore
Logan Banek put forth a dominating effort to go along with a season-high 13 ground balls. The Siena offense was once again a spread attack with
Conor Hufnagel (three goals, three assists),
Caden Olmstead (three goals, two assists),
Patrick Linton (one goal, two assists),
Gavin Blenk (two goals),
Adam Rayfield (two goals),
Colby LeBlanc and
Travis Fry (one goal, one assist apiece) all contributing with multiple-points afternoons.
R.J. Ihlefeld had a monstrous defensive performance with a team-high five caused turnovers with a pair of ground balls. Hufnagel also went over 100 career points to become the 36
th player and fourth on the roster this season to accrue 100 career points.
The Mountaineers opened the scoring at 14:13 with a goal by Kevin Whitty, assisted by Marcelo Carreiro. The Saints quickly responded with Hufnagel netting the equalizer just a minute later, aided by Olmstead.
Gavin Blenk gave the Saints the lead at 11:36, but the Mountaineers tied it once more with a goal from Carreiro. Hufnagel scored again at 3:57, followed by
Joe Valenza extending the Saints' lead to 4–2 at 2:25 with an assist from Linton. The quarter concluded with the Saints leading by two.
Siena capitalized early in the second quarter with a man-up goal from Blenk at 14:06, extending its lead. LeBlanc scored at 6:53, assisted by Olmstead, maintaining the Saints' momentum. The Mountaineers responded with a goal by Carter Quested at 5:59, narrowing the gap. However, the Saints quickly answered with Rayfield scoring at 5:26, assisted by
Michael Felicetti. Fry added another for the Saints with 18 seconds remaining, assisted by Hufnagel, before Kevin Whitty closed the quarter with a goal for the Mountaineers at the final second. By the end of the quarter, the Saints led 8–4.
Siena extended its lead in the third quarter with a strong offensive performance, securing four goals. Carter Quested opened the scoring for the Mountaineers at 12:58 with a man-up goal, but the Saints responded quickly. Rayfield scored at 8:07, assisted by Linton, who later added his own goal at 6:23 with help from LeBlanc. Hufnagel added another goal for the Saints at 5:32, and Olmstead capitalized on a man-up opportunity at 3:45, assisted by Fry. Chris Grimaldi closed the quarter's scoring for the Mountaineers at 2:51, assisted by Quested. The quarter ended with the Saints leading 12–6.
The fourth quarter featured a surge from the Mountaineers as they attempted to close the gap. Grimaldi opened the scoring at 14:16 with a goal assisted by Quested. The Saints responded with Olmstead finding the net twice, at 12:25 and 4:34, each assisted by Hufnagel. However, the Mountaineers answered back strongly with goals from Aidan Kilduff, Owen Fasulka, and Carreiro, who scored twice, including the final goal at 00:32. Despite the Saints' efforts, the Mountaineers outscored them 6–2 in this quarter, tightening the final score to 14–12 in favor of the Saints.
Siena will be back in action for their regular season finale at home against Merrimack (5-8, 4-3 MAAC) this Wednesday at 4 p.m.