GNAC MEN'S LACROSSE CHAMPIONSHIP CENTRAL

WINTHROP, Mass. – The South Division secured three spots in the 2024 Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) semifinals by winning their GNAC Quarterfinal matchups on Saturday (April 27). Rivier was the lone North Division team to collect a victory and will join the three other quarterfinal winners in the next round on Wednesday, May 1.

The quarterfinals featured two tight games and two decisive victories. The big wins went to No. 1 North seed Rivier and No. 3 South seed Lasell. The Raiders bested No. 4 South seed Johnson & Wales, 16-3, and the Lasers took down No. 2 North seed Norwich, 15-6. No. 1 South seed University of Saint Joseph (Conn.) had the smallest margin of victory in the quarterfinals. The Blue Jays scored four goals in the final quarter to come-from-behind against No. 4 North seed Emmanuel. No. 2 South seed Dean held off No. 3 North seed Saint Joseph's (Maine) come-back attempt to win 14-12 in the last quarterfinal.

Wednesday's semifinals have USJ hosting Lasell at 4 p.m. and Rivier entertaining Dean at 7 p.m.

The two semifinal winners will then compete for the conference title on Saturday, May 4 with the winner being crowned 2024 GNAC Men's Lacrosse Champion and earning the league's automatic qualifier into the NCAA Division III Men's Lacrosse Championship.

#1N Rivier 16, #4S Johnson & Wales 3

Recap courtesy of the Rivier Athletic Communications Department.

NASHUA, N.H. – The Rivier men's lacrosse team rolled past Johnson & Wales in the Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) Quarterfinals on Saturday afternoon at Merrill Field, winning by a final score of 16-3.

The Raiders, the No. 1 seed in the North Division, improved to 11-6 with the win. The South's fourth-seeded Wildcats conclude their 2024 campaign with a 9-7 overall record.

Thanks to a two-goal performance in the opening period by Michael Zapatka, the Raiders got out to a 4-1 lead heading into the second quarter.

Chris Heitmiller scored a hat trick in the second frame as Rivier shutout the Wildcats, 7-0, to take a commanding 11-1 lead into the locker room.

Zapatka scored twice more in the opening 1:42 of the third to improve the Raiders' lead to a dozen. After a Connor Eck goal was sandwiched by a pair of JWU tallies, Heitmiller scored his fifth of the outing with eight seconds left in the quarter, giving the hosts a 15-3 lead.

Heitmiller took advantage of a man-up opportunity in the middle of the fourth quarter to round out the scoring for the afternoon as Riv held on for a 16-3 victory to secure a spot in Wednesday's semifinal round.

Rivier's leading point-scorer was Heitmiller who scored six goals and tacked on an assist to finish with seven points. Zapatka (five goals, one assist) followed behind with six. Jeffrey Potter (one goal, four assists) recorded five points while Coby Mercier's two goals and two assists were good for a four-point performance.

Parker Williams registered a caused turnover along with four ground balls.

The Raiders went 15-for-23 on faceoffs, with Owen McDuffie going 6-for-9, Dylan Fonseca going 4-for-7, and Noah Zeman going 5-for-7.

In his seventh win of the campaign, Sawyer Gagnon made 14 saves on 17 shots on target.

Riv finished nearly perfect on the clear with 23 successful clears on 24 tries.

#1S University of Saint Joseph (Conn.) 10, #4N Emmanuel 9

Recap courtesy of the University of Saint Joseph (Conn.) Athletic Communications Department.

WEST HARTFORD, Conn. – The South Division top-seeded University of Saint Joseph (Conn.) men's lacrosse team kept its season alive in thrilling fashion with a comeback victory at home over North Division fourth-seeded Emmanuel College, 10-9, Saturday afternoon during the Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) Quarterfinals at the USJ Lacrosse Field in West Hartford, Conn. The Blue Jays, who trailed 9-6 entering the fourth quarter, scored four unanswered, including one from freshman attack Brendan Tedeschi, who netted the game-winner with nine seconds left to play in regulation. With the result, the Blue Jays improved to 14-3 overall on the year and advanced to the GNAC Semifinals for the second consecutive season, while the Saints concluded their season at 5-12 overall.

KEY MOMENTS 

• The Saints grabbed an early 2-0 lead, but the Blue Jays answered back in kind, as junior attack Evan Zimnoch and junior midfielder Christian Decker netted back-to-back goals, leveling the game at 2-2 at the 9:54 mark of the first quarter.
• Emmanuel quickly regained the lead less than a minute later, but sophomore midfielder Nick Pestrichello swung the lead back in USJ's favor, scoring two unanswered goals to establish a 4-3 USJ lead with 2:52 left on the first quarter clock.
• The visitors tied the game at 4-4 moments later, sending the game into the second quarter deadlocked.
• Emmanuel carried its late momentum into the second period, opening the quarter with two goals to jump out to a 6-4 edge at the 6:20 mark before halftime.
• Pestrichello continued his strong day, rounding out his hat trick with 5:03 left in the half, but the Saints found the back of the net again in the closing moments to go into the halftime break with a 7-5 edge.
• Decker would score his second goal of the game in the third quarter, but his strike was sandwiched in-between a pair of Emmanuel strikes, as the Saints held a 9-6 lead entering the final quarter.
• The Blue Jays came alive in crunch time though, starting with a goal from Pestrichello with 11:49 to go to close the gap to 9-7.
• Junior midfielder Luke von Borstel quickly followed, winning the ensuing faceoff before rushing down the field and firing a shot into the net, pulling the Blue Jays within one, 9-8, with 11:36 left to play.
• USJ continued to roll late in the fourth, as Decker tied the game at 9-9 with a goal at the 3:15 mark.
• In the closing seconds, Tedeschi scooped up a ground ball in front of the Saints net after a save and rifled a shot into the goal with nine seconds left to play to give the Blue Jays their first lead of the game since late in the first quarter.
• The Blue Jays would win the final faceoff and finished off the comeback victory, 10-9.

NOTES 

• Pestrichello paced the team with six points off four goals and two assists.
• Decker netted three goals on the day.
• Senior Trey McCann corralled a team-high six ground balls.
• Senior midfielder Sam Barbetti caused a team-best four turnovers.
• McCann got the win in the cage for USJ, recording 12 saves.

#2S Dean 14, #3N Saint Joseph's (Maine) 12

Recap courtesy of the Dean Athletic Communications Department.

FRANKLIN, Mass. – April 27, 2024 – The South Division second seed Dean College men's lacrosse team came back from multiple deficits to defeat North Division third seed Saint Joseph's (Maine), 14-12, in the Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) quarterfinals at a crowded Grant Field Saturday afternoon.

The Bulldogs, who avenged a 14-9 road loss to Saint Joseph's on April 9, will make a second consecutive appearance in the semifinals when they travel to North Division top seed Rivier on Wednesday. The Raiders, who defeated Dean 13-8 on March 25 in Nashua, advanced after a 16-3 win over Johnson & Wales. Saint Joseph's ends its season at 10-8.

Dean senior Alec Speirs led all players with seven points on four goals and three assists. First-year Manny Alvarez-Segee tallied four goals and an assist. Senior Diego Alvarez-Segee and junior Owen Brine scored twice, while junior Jaden Wise contributed a goal and five ground balls.

Sophomore Tiger Hopkins led the Monks with four goals. Senior Tim Goodfellow also posted four points on three goals and an assist. Xavier Michaud and junior Tyler Moscato contributed two goals apiece. Freshman Zander Kirk won 15-of-26 faceoffs and picked up a game best 13 ground balls.

Dean first-year Elijah Beland made nine saves to pick up his 12th win of the season. Freshman Reed Wescott finished with 11 saves in the loss.

The Monks opened the scoring, six minutes in the game, with a tally from Goodfellow. Saint Joseph's continued the momentum and received three goals from three different players to close the quarter with a 4-0 advantage.

Dean responded in the second with four consecutive goals to tie the game at the 7:45 mark. Manny Alvarez-Segee had two goals in the run. Michaud put the Monks back in front by a goal with his 57th of the season with 5:31 on the clock. The visitors held the 5-4 lead at the break.

Goodfellow gave Saint Joseph's a two-goal edge by scoring 36 seconds into the third frame. The Bulldogs then took over with five-straight goals for a 9-6 lead. Brine scored both of his goals in that spurt. The Monks battled back to score twice and trim the lead to 9-8 with 6:08 to play in the quarter. The home team answered with two goals in the final two minutes, including a man-down tally from Speirs, for an 11-8 margin going into the final quarter.

In the fourth, Hopkins began the scoring to cut the deficit to a deuce. Manny Alvarez-Segee answered 25 seconds later to make the margin three again. He then scored six minutes later for a 13-9 lead. Six seconds later, Speirs notched his fourth of the game to put Dean on top by a 14-9 score. The Monks did not go quietly as they scored twice in a 32-second span to pull within three. They added a 12^th goal with 3:23 on the clock, but Dean held them off the board for the remainder of the contest to secure the 14-12 GNAC quarterfinal victory.

#3S Lasell 15, #2N Norwich 6

Full recap to follow.

2024 GNAC Men's Lacrosse Tournament Schedule

Quarterfinals – Saturday, April 27
(Hosted by higher seeds)

#1N Rivier def. #4S Johnson & Wales, 16-3 | BOX
#1S University of Saint Joseph (Conn.) def. #4N Emmanuel, 10-9 | BOX
#3S Lasell def. #2N Norwich, 15-6 | BOX
#2S Dean def. #3N Saint Joseph's (Maine), 14-12 | BOX

Semifinals – Wednesday, May 1
(Hosted by higher seeds)

#3S Lasell at #1S University of Saint Joseph (Conn.), 4 p.m.
#2S Dean at #1N Rivier, 7 p.m.

Championship – Saturday, May 4
(Hosted by higher seed)

Semifinal winners, TBD

ABOUT THE GREAT NORTHEAST ATHLETIC CONFERENCE

The Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) is an NCAA Division III association made up of 16 member institutions and over 4000 student-athletes across the New England region. Founded in 1995, the GNAC annually sponsors and administers 22 championships, while balancing academic integrity, athletic opportunity and community involvement in an effort to enhance the student-athlete experience.

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