PLEASANTVILLE, N.Y. – Pace Stadium saw a hard-fought battle between two playoff contenders in the Northeast-10 Conference on Saturday. A tightly contested matchup between No. 19 Pace University men's lacrosse and Southern New Hampshire University (SNHU) resulted in overtime, where the Penmen picked up the victory with 53 seconds left by a score of 14-13. The Setters drop to 7-4 overall and 3-3 in the Northeast-10, while SNHU improves to 5-4 and 4-3.
 
The Setters did not trail for the entire 63:07 played on Saturday, going down only with the final goal of the game. Sophomore Anthony Gadaleta (Kings Park, NY/Kings Park) opened things up less than two minutes into the game off a feed from freshman Bradley Paterson (Caldwell, NJ/Depaul Catholic) to make it a 1-0 lead for the home team. SNHU's Keifer Heckman scored three minutes later to tie things up. Sophomore Liam Brennan (Huntington Station, NY/Walt Whitman) gave Pace the lead again at the 6:52 mark, but Dan Malave took advantage of a Setter penalty and scored a man-up goal to tie it at two. Junior Peter Sharp (Airmont, NY/Suffern) closed out the quarter with his first of the game, leaving the Setters up, 3-2, heading into the second period.
 
Brennan netted his second of the half a few minutes into the next quarter to make it a two-goal lead. Daniel Trainor got SNHU back within one 92 seconds later, but Sharp scored again off an assist from Brennan to make it 5-3. Cameron McGuire and Cameron Joyce then scored back-to-back goals for the Penmen to tie the game at 5-5. Moments later, senior Matthew Cossidente (Port Jefferson Station, NY/Comsewogue) took the lead back for Pace with this first of the day, then followed it up at the 1:17 mark with a man-up goal to make it 7-5. McGuire and Joyce fired in goals within 28 seconds of each other during the final minute of the half, sending both teams into the break tied 7-7.
 
The third quarter opened with strong defensive play, and did not see a score for over seven minutes. Senior Tyler Meigel (Centereach, NY/Centereach) broke the silence at 7:59 to put Pace up, 8-7. This sparked a three-goal run for the Setters, as Meigel's netter was followed by sophomore Joshua Kreitler (Shelton, CT/Shelton)'s first of the game, and then Brennan's third on a man-up goal to give Pace its largest lead of the game. McGuire managed one more for the Penmen before the buzzer to make it a two-goal advantage for Pace heading into the final frame.
 
Dan Malave netted one at 13:46 to make it a one-goal game, but Sharp and Paterson scored the next two goals of the game to put Pace back up by three. SNHU then hit the back of the net twice in a row to get back within a goal, but Meigel halted the short run at 1:50 to make it a 13-11 edge for the Setters. Heckman scored just 23 seconds later for SNHU, and then Trainor scored once more with a minute left to tie the game. With under 20 seconds to play, SNHU thought it scored the game winner, but the shooter was ruled to be inside the crease, and the officials waved it off. With one final opportunity, Kreitler found himself matched up one-on-one with the goalie, but keeper Tyler Walsh made a big stop for SNHU to keep the game tied and send it to overtime.
 
The overtime period was as action packed as they come, keeping both fans and players on their toes throughout its entirety. SNHU's Patrick Goff won the opening face-off, but accidentally threw it right to Paterson in Pace's offensive zone to set up a scoring opportunity. Paterson hit Brennan with a feed from the right side, but Brennan's shot was stopped at close range to keep the game going. Joyce, who ranks second in the NE-10 in both points and goals, then tried to squeak one through the defense, but the shot was blocked. The Setters then turned it over in the offensive zone, but SNHU's Matthew Blaisdell threw it down the field and out of bounds on the clear attempt to give it back to Pace with 2:05 to go in the extra period.
 
Kreitler found himself with another scoring opportunity at the 1:28 mark, but Walsh came up with another big save for the Penmen. After SNHU succeeded on a clear attempt, junior Jeremy Wiley (Port Jefferson Station, NY/Comsewogue) caused a turnover by Mark Beirne to get it back for Pace. The Setters called a timeout once they got down the field to try and set up a scoring play. When they game continued, the Setters were unable to hang on to the ball, and SNHU successfully cleared it into its offensive area. Cam Rewucki then found Joyce open in front of the net, where he slipped one in with 53 seconds left to end the game.
 
Walsh got the win for SNHU to improve to 4-0 on the season. He made 11 saves and allowed 13 goals. Beshlian took the loss to fall to 7-4 despite a strong effort between the pipes. He made 15 stops in the game, and also picked up four ground balls.
 
Brennan led Pace with five points on three goals and two assists on Saturday. Sharp scored three times and added an assist, while Paterson scored once and dished out three helpers. Cossidente and Meigel each scored twice as well.
 
Wiley had a spectacular defensive game on Saturday, causing a game-high six turnovers and scooping up a game-best 10 ground balls, both of which double the next highest total in each category. Junior Brandon Donnellan (Chester, NY/Warwick Valley) had a stellar game as well, grabbing six ground balls and causing three turnovers.
 
Joyce finished up with six points on four goals and two assists on Saturday. McGuire and Trainor each scored three times, while Eric Johnson handed out three assists. Heckman and Rewucki each picked up five ground balls, while Will Thompson and Sal Lomedico each had three caused turnovers.
 
The Setters stay home for another big matchup on Tuesday, April 12. Pace plays host to No. 7 Adelphi University in another Northeast-10 Conference matchup at Pace Stadium. The opening face-off is set for 7 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).
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