PLEASANTVILLE, N.Y. – The Pace University men's lacrosse team made sure their seven seniors left Pace Stadium for the last time in grand fashion, as the Setters took down Assumption College for a 13-8 Northeast-10 Conference victory on Senior Day. The Setters improve to 10-5 overall and 6-4 in the NE-10, grasping strong to a playoff spot, while Assumption drops to 2-11 and 2-8.
The Setters' seven seniors,
Matthew Cossidente (Port Jefferson Station, NY/Comsewogue),
Tyler Meigel (Centereach, NY/Centereach),
Matt Ruquet (Rocky Point, NY/Rocky Point / Manhattan College),
Nick Ramos (Staten Island, NY/St. Joseph by the Sea),
Joey Whelan (Massapequa, NY/Massapequa),
Conor Brophy (Pompton Lakes, NJ/DePaul Catholic) and
Kevin Cox (Brightwater, NY/Bay Shore / Manhattan College), were all honored prior to the start of Saturday's contest. Each was joined by various family members, as well as Pace Director of Athletics Mark Brown.
The Setters hosted HEADstrong Fundraiser Cancer Awareness Day at Pace Stadium on Saturday, and helped raise $540 for the organization to go toward cancer research.
Senior captain
Matthew Cossidente (Port Jefferson Station, NY/Comsewogue) scored the first goal of the game, but the Greyhounds answered back just over a minute later with a goal of their own to tie the game at the 11:06 mark. Freshman
Bradley Paterson (Caldwell, NJ/Depaul Catholic) netted one for the Setters with 9:58 on the clock in the first quarter, and then sophomore
Joshua Kreitler (Shelton, CT/Shelton) fired in a goal of his own 51 seconds later. Over seven minutes of scoreless action passed before sophomore
Liam Brennan (Huntington Station, NY/Walt Whitman) blasted in the last goal of the first quarter with 1:22 remaining, and the Setters went into the second frame with a 4-1 advantage over Assumption.
The Greyhounds did not shy away from the Setters' early lead, as they opened the second quarter with three straight goals, tying the game at 4-4 by the 13:03 mark. Brennan then set up Cossidente for a goal to put Pace back ahead by one. Freshman
Vincent Vasheo (Wantagh, NY/Wantagh) netted on at the 5:28 mark, putting the Setters up, 6-4. After an Assumption goal, Brennan closed the half by firing in a goal, assisted by senior
Tyler Meigel (Centereach, NY/Centereach), and the Setters went into halftime with a two-goal edge over the Greyhounds.
The third quarter was highly competitive, but the defenses took over, and neither team managed to get one in the back of the net for the entire 15 minutes. After more than 18 minutes of scoreless play, Assumption netted in a goal to cut the Setters' lead to 7-6. Sophomore
Ryan O'Hagan (Watervliet, NY/Christian Brothers Academy) scored the first Pace goal of the final frame at 8:50, pushing the Setters' lead back up to two. Meigel then put one past the keeper at the 6:39 mark, and Brennan netted one in 39 seconds later to take a 10-6 lead.
O'Hagan fired in another goal, and junior
Brandon Donnellan (Chester, NY/Warwick Valley) ran down the field and scored one of his own with 1:35 remaining in the fourth quarter to make it a 12-6 Setter advantage. Assumption's Dan Farrell netted a goal at the 46-second mark, but sophomore
Anthony Gadaleta (Kings Park, NY/Kings Park) answered right back with one of his own 20 seconds later. Farrell scored with one second left on the clock, but it was not enough, as the Greyhounds fell to the Setters by five.
Brennan led the Setters with three goals and two assists for a five-point evening. Cossidente finished with three points on two goals and an assist, while O'Hagan also scored two goals for the Setters. Junior
Jeremy Wiley (Port Jefferson Station, NY/Comsewogue) scooped up a team-high five ground balls and caused five turnovers.
Sophomore goalkeeper
Robert Beshlian (Wantagh, NY/Wantagh) improves to 10-5 on the season after stopping seven shots for the win on Saturday. Assumption's Colby Hamwey made 11 saves, but took the loss after giving up 13 goals.
Assumption's Dan Farrell scored twice and dished out an assist for a three-point game. Connor Munisteri scored two times, while Nick Guarino grabbed a game-best nine ground balls.
The Setters will play their last game of the regular season on Saturday, April 30, when they travel to Franklin Pierce University one final Northeast-10 matchup with possible playoff implications. The game 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).
