LOUDONVILLE, NY — Siena Men's Lacrosse head coach
Tim Cox simply stated prior to their game hosting Merrimack in the MAAC Semifinals that you just need to score one more goal than the other team to advance.
In a moment of foreshadowing, that's exactly what Siena Men's Lacrosse team did on Thursday as the Saints held off Merrimack 12-11 and are headed back to the MAAC Men's Lacrosse Championship Game after avenging an earlier defeat at home just eight days earlier against the Warriors.
The Saints (12-4) have granted themselves the opportunity to defend their MAAC Championship and they have now reached the title game in three of the previous four seasons and the ninth time in program history.
Top-seeded Siena will host No. 2 Marist (10-4) on Saturday at 12 p.m. on ESPNU. It is a rematch of the 2023 and 2014 MAAC Championship.
Merrimack (7-9) had their five-game win streak snapped after playing their best lacrosse of the season at the right time, defeating Siena 14-6 to close the regular season, and then topped #5 Quinnipiac 14-13 in a MAAC First Round Match up to advance to this round.
The Warriors came out in a similar fashion on Thursday, taking a 6-4 lead on a goal by Colin Kruger with 3:57 remaining in the half.
However, the Saints responded with three goals within a 90-second span behind three of their top scorers in Linton,
Caden Olmstead and
Travis Fry to capture a 7-6 advantage into halftime.
Patrick Linton came through with a big game, scoring a career-high four goals, while
Colby LeBlanc delivered a career-high four assists.
Vito DeBellis made 12 saves.
Joe Valenza led the defense with four caused turnovers and a pair of ground balls and
Logan Banek was 12-of-22 on face offs with 11 ground balls.
Siena finished the quarter strong once again as Olmstead struck at 5:50, Fry scored twice and Linton also scored in the third quarter.
Linton's goal at 7:37 in the fourth quarter gave Siena enough of a pad to hold on.
To begin the game, Siena struck first, with
Conor Hufnagel scoring the opening goal at 10:31. Merrimack quickly responded with a goal from Finn Dougherty at 7:50, leveling the score. Siena regained the lead shortly after, as
Caden Olmstead netted a goal assisted by
Gavin Blenk at 7:08. However, Merrimack's Jaconi Carmine and Colin Kruger each scored later in the quarter, helping the Warriors end the quarter with a 3-2 lead.
Siena staged a comeback in the second quarter, overcoming an early goal by Jack Salva at 13:52.
Patrick Linton quickly responded for the Saints with a goal, assisted by Fry. Siena's
Gavin Blenk added another score to tie the game at 4-4. Despite Merrimack's efforts, including a goal by Alystair Hemburger and another by Colin Kruger, Siena took control in the latter half. Linton scored again at 1:44, and Olmstead capitalized on a man-up opportunity with a goal assisted by Blenk at 0:58. Fry closed the quarter with a goal at 0:14, assisted by Linton, giving Siena a 7-6 lead heading into the break.
Siena and Merrimack engaged in a closely contested third quarter, with Siena outscoring Merrimack 4-3 to take a narrow lead. Olmstead opened the scoring for the Saints at 5:30, assisted by LeBlanc, leveling the score at 7-7. Fry then found the net twice, with his second goal assisted by LeBlanc, helping Siena gain a 10-8 advantage. Merrimack's Jack Salva responded with two goals, the second assisted by Brendan Harty, but Siena's Linton secured the lead with a late goal at with 19 seconds left, ending the quarter 11-9 in Siena's favor.
In the fourth quarter, Merrimack's Jack Deleo scored at 10:45, assisted by Jack Salva, narrowing the gap to one. The Saints responded with a goal from Linton, assisted by LeBlanc, at 7:37. Merrimack capitalized on a man-up opportunity with a goal from Alystair Hemburger, assisted by Colin Kruger, at 2:48, bringing the score to 12-11. Despite a late timeout and a shot from Merrimack's Kruger that hit the post, Siena maintained its lead to secure the win.
