PLEASANTVILLE, N.Y. – Sophomore
Liam Brennan (Huntington Station, NY/Walt Whitman) did it all on Tuesday to lead the Pace University men's lacrosse team to a decisive 23-7 victory over American International College (AIC) in Northeast-10 Conference action at Pace Stadium. The Setters improve to 6-2 on the year with the win, and 2-1 in the NE-10, while AIC drops to 0-10 overall and 0-7 in conference play.
Brennan tallied a season-high nine points on Tuesday, scoring three times and dishing out a career-high six assists. His nine points are one shy of his career record of 10, which he recorded last season against Saint Michael's College. He also scooped up two ground balls and caused two turnovers in the win.
Brennan set up freshman
Kevin Vogelsberg (Wantagh, NY/Holy Trinity Diocesan) on each of the first three goals of the game. Brennan later scored the fifth Setter goal at the 9:55 mark, leaving Pace up, 5-0, before AIC got on the board for the first time. Brennan assisted two more goals later in the first, and Pace finished up the period with a 10-1 advantage.
AIC got on the board first in the second, but after six scoreless minutes, Brennan got on the board once again off a feed from sophomore
Anthony Gadaleta (Kings Park, NY/Kings Park) to make it 11-2. Brennan added another assist on the final goal of the half, scored by sophomore
Ryan O'Hagan (Watervliet, NY/Christian Brothers Academy), closing out the second with a 14-2 edge.
Brennan scored the third goal of the third quarter, reaching nine points on the evening just 34 minutes into the game. The Setters kept the heat on for the remainder of the game, finishing up with a 16-goal victory.
Vogelsberg had a career day, as a rookie scored a season-high four goals, adding an assist for a personal-best five points. Vogelsberg also scooped up four ground balls and caused three turnovers. Junior
James Vitale (Port Jefferson Station, NY/St. John the Baptist) also had the best offensive game of his career, dishing out four assists and scoring once for five points of his own.
O'Hagan scored twice and handed out two assists for a four-point evening. He also picked up three ground balls and caused a turnover. Junior
Peter Sharp (Airmont, NY/Suffern) registered his third career hat trick, adding a ground ball to his effort. Gadaleta scored a goal and tallied three helpers for a four-point game.
Sophomore goalkeeper
Robert Beshlian (Wantagh, NY/Wantagh) picked up the win to improve to 6-2 on the year. He made three saves and allowed just two goals while playing the first 30 minutes of the game. AIC's keeper John Magliano allowed 22 goals in 56:11 and made 10 saves.
Pace fired off 55 shots in Tuesday's contest, while holding AIC to just 21. The Setters put 34 of those shots on goal, while AIC put 14 on target. Pace held a slight 43-42 edge in ground balls, and won 18-of-34 face-offs.
The Setters take a long trip up to Manchester, N.H. on Saturday, April 2, to face-off with Saint Anselm College, which, like Pace, received votes on this week's United States Intercollegiate Lacrosse Association (USILA) Division II Coaches' Poll. Saturday's matchup is set to begin at 12 p.m.
For all information regarding Pace University men's lacrosse, log on to
www.PaceUAthletics.com, follow Pace Athletics on Facebook (
T-Bone, Official Mascot of Pace University Athletics), and follow the men's lacrosse team on Twitter (
@PaceLacrosse) and on Instagram (
@PaceUnivLax).
