PACE NOTCHES FIRST CONFERENCE WIN OVER SOUTHERN NEW HAMPSHIRE

PLEASANTVILLE, NY- Justin Page (Eagan, MN/Eagan) (Eagan, MN/Eagan) netted four goals to lead the Pace lacrosse team to a 10-6 win over the Penmen of Southern New Hampshire University in the Setters' conference opener. Pace move over the .500 mark at 3-2 overall and open 1-0 in the Northeast-10, while the Penmen drop to 0-2 and 0-1 in conference play.

Page got the Setters on the board, netting a man-up goal three minutes into the game for the lone goal of the first quarter. Jake Sheppard (Brunswick East, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia/East Victoria) (Brunswick East, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia/Northcote) scored the Setters second goal early in the second quarter off an assist by T.J. Urban (Kinnelon, NJ/Kinnelon) (Kinnelon, NJ/Kinnelon). Chris Dindler (Stephany, Australia) cut the Pace lead in half with 7:16 left in the quarter but the Setters would finish the half strong on a man-up goal by James Hammel (N. Caldwell, NJ/West Essex) (North Caldwell, NJ/West Essex) and one later one by Page to give Pace a 4-1 halftime lead.

The scoring picked up in the second half as the teams would combine for tally 12 goals over the final two periods. Sheppard and Dindler would trade goals in the part of the third quarter. Page's third goal at the 9:26 mark of the third quarter gave Pace a seemingly commanding 6-2 lead. Southern New Hampshire would not go quietly and rallied with three unanswered goals to cut the lead to 6-5. Mike Ball (Salem, NH) would net a pair, while Marc Novaco (Chelmsford, MA) would cap the run with tally at the 9:58 mark of the final quarter. Hammel and Ball would each record a goal, keeping the score at one at 7-6 with 6:08 left in the game.

Joseph Clark (Hopkinton, MA/Hopkinton) (Hopkinton, MA/Hopkinton) would give the Setters a little breathing room scoring a goal off a Ryan Gregory (Bethpage, NY/Bethpage) (Bethpage, NY/Bethpage) assist with 4:16 remaining in the game. Pace would then put the game away, converting on back-to-back power play opportunities as Sheppard and Page took advantage of the man-up penalty to take 10-6 lead. The Penmen converted a late man-up opportunity for the final margin as the Setters would run the clock our to pick up their first NE-10 win of the season.

For Pace, Page led the way with his four goals, while Gregory tallied four assists on the day. Sheppard finished with three goals, while Hammel chipped in two. Urban and Ben Volen (Mt. Airy, MD/Linganore) (Mt. Airy, MD/Linganore) each recorded a pair of assists. In net, Timothy Matheis (Lindenhurst, NY/Lindenhurst) (Lindenhurst, NY/Lindenhurst) played the entire game, recording 19 saves, earning the win

Pace returns to action when they travel to Rindge, NH to take on Franklin Pierce on Saturday. March 29 at 3:00 pm. The Setters will head south the following day taking on Bentley College in Waltham, MA for a 1:00 pm start. Pace returns home on Wednesday, April 2 for a non-conference game against Molloy at 3:30 pm at Pace's Pleasantville campus.