EASTON, Mass.- Eric Ortega (Staten Island, N.Y./St. Peter's Boys) (Staten Island, NY/St.
Peter's) scored two touchdowns, finishing with 10
receptions for 129 yards as the Setters came up short in a 41-33
loss to the Skyhawks of Stonehill College. The Setters fall to 0-2
on the season, while the Skyhawks improve to 2-0 overall.
Stonehill would take an early lead on a first quarter field goal
by Nicholas Salvo. The Setters would answer with an Ali Mourtada (Foxboro, Mass./Foxboro) (Foxboro, MA/Foxboro) 33-yard field goal early in
the second quarter to tie the game at three. Stonehill will rally
with a touchdown but a late Mourtada 22-yard field goal with 20
seconds left in the half pulled the Setters to trail 10-6 at
halftime.
The Skyhawks opened the second half with a pair of early Eddie
Vachon touchdown runs to put Stonehill up 24-6. The teams would
trade touchdowns late in the third and into the fourth quarter as
Patrick Lupfer (Mineola, N.Y./Kellenberg Memorial) (Mineola, NY/Kellenberg Memorial)
would haul in TD passes from Setters quarterback Joe Romanick (Slidell, La./Northshore) (Slidell, LA/Northshore). Vachon and Jeretrius
Troy would add a couple of touchdown runs for the Skyhawks as
Stonehill led 38-19 with 10:46 left in the game.
The Setters would rally back as Romanick hit Ortega on a 13-yard
touchdown strike to pull Pace to 38-26. Pace would recover the
on-side kick on the ensuing kickoff, keeping the Setters'
hope of a comeback alive. Romanick would cap a six-play, 45-yard
drive with his fourth touchdown of the game, hitting
Dominique West (Philadelphia, Pa./Cardinal Dougherty) (Philadelphia, PA/Cardinal
Dougherty) on a 22-yard scoring connection to slice the
score to 38-33 with 4:17 left in the game.
Stonehill would put up three points in their next possession as
Salvo booted a 39-yard field goal to give the Skyhawks a 41-33 lead
with 2:40 left. The Setters refused to go quietly as Romanick led
the Pace offense down the field to the Stonehill 15-yard line with
just over a minute remaining in the game. The Setters would fail to
convert on fourth and two play as a Romanick pass for Lupfer would
be incomplete, ending the Setters' hopes of a comeback.
For Pace, Romanick had a career day throwing for 281 yards in
the air on 27-for-46 passing and four touchdowns. Ortega's
two touchdowns led the Setters' receivers, while Lupfer
finished with seven catches for 64 yards. On the ground,
Jason Washington (Bronx, N.Y./Mamaroneck/Iona College) (Bronx, NY/Mamaroneck/Iona
College) led the way for the Setters, totaling 150 yards
on 14 carries. On defense, Jonfrey Sanchez (Bogota, N.J./Bogota) (Bogota,
NJ/Bogota) and David Lopez (Ozone Park, N.Y./Christ the King) (Ozone Park, NY/Christ
the King) each totaled nine tackles, while Yves Delpeche (Brooklyn, NY/Canarsie/HVCC) recorded eight
tackles.
The Setters return to action on Saturday, September 18 when Pace
will host the Owls of Southern Connecticut in Pace's
conference opener at Pace Field at 1 pm.
