MANCHESTER, N.H. – The Pace University men's lacrosse team is heading back to the Northeast-10 Conference Men's Lacrosse Championships, and will enter the tournament as the No. 5 seed after finishing the regular season with an 11-5 overall record, and 7-4 mark in Northeast-10 Conference play. They will travel up to Manchester, N.H. on Tuesday, May 3, to take on No. 4 seeded Southern New Hampshire University (SNHU) at 7 p.m.
Pace returns to the NE-10 Championships for the second-straight season after qualifying as the No. 6 seed in 2015. The Setters fell in the first round to No. 3 Adelphi University a year ago, and will look to take last year's experience to help take them further this time around.
Despite last year's tournament loss, the Setters still found postseason success. They took home their first-ever Eastern College Athletic Conference (ECAC) Championship Trophy, defeating Mercy College in the championship game, 12-9.
The Setters opened the season with a 3-1 start against four non-conference opponents. Their one loss came at the hands of Dowling College, ranked No. 17 at the time, by a 14-13 decision. The Setters then opened Northeast-10 Conference play, hosting No. 3 Merrimack College at Pace Stadium. Pace fell in that game, 17-8.
If that loss did anything for the Setters, it lit a fire under them, and sparked a four-game winning streak. Pace won conference road games at Saint Michael's College and Saint Anselm College, as well as a home NE-10 victory against American International College.
Pace then hit the road to take on No. 2 Le Moyne College, which came into the game undefeated and on top of the NE-10. The Setters played tough throughout, leading at halftime and staying within a goal for during the fourth quarter, but they ultimately dropped a close contest, 11-7. The loss began a rough patch for the Setters, who lost their next contest to SNHU, 14-13, in overtime. They then played a stellar game against then-No. 4 Adelphi, but a goal with one second left gave the Panthers a 13-12 win.
Now needing to make a run to get themselves into the playoffs, the Setters turned the tables on their season, winning each of their final four games to clinch a playoff berth. They defeated the College of Saint Rose on the road on April 16, 11-8, to end their three-game skid. They then made a big second-half comeback to defeat Bentley University on the road, 11-10. The picked up a Senior-Day victory over Assumption College at Pace Stadium, 13-8, and closed out the season with a 17-8 win at Franklin Pierce University to lock up fifth place in the conference.
Sophomore
Liam Brennan (Huntington Station, NY/Walt Whitman) leads the Setters with 68 points this season, placing him third in the conference. He also has a team-high 36 assists, which puts him second in the league, and is tied with sophomore
Anthony Gadaleta (Kings Park, NY/Kings Park) for the team lead with 32 goals. Gadaleta places second on the team with 43 points, while senior
Matthew Cossidente (Port Jefferson Station, NY/Comsewogue) is third with 35 on 22 goals and 13 assists. Freshman
Bradley Paterson (Caldwell, NJ/Depaul Catholic) has had a strong rookie campaign, scoring 17 goals and dishing out 15 assists for 32 points.
Senior
Matt Ruquet (Rocky Point, NY/Rocky Point / Manhattan College) has won 54.8 percent of face-offs this season, and leads the team with 69 ground balls. Junior
Jeremy Wiley (Port Jefferson Station, NY/Comsewogue) is close behind with 60 ground balls, and has caused a team-leading 38 turnovers. Junior
Brandon Donnellan (Chester, NY/Warwick Valley) has had a strong defensive year, picking up 58 ground balls and 22 caused turnovers. Sophomore goalkeeper
Robert Beshlian (Wantagh, NY/Wantagh) leads the Northeast-10 Conference with 167 saves, is second with a .557 save percentage, and is third with a 9.28 goals-against average.
As mentioned previously, the Setters dropped their last matchup with SNHU in overtime. After an evenly matched contest the last time around, another tight game is to be expected for their First Round matchup.
SNHU enters Tuesday with a 9-5 overall record, and went 7-4 in conference play this season to earn the No. 4 seed. Cameron Joyce ranks second in the league with 83 points this season, including 49 goals that also rank second, and 34 assists that place him third. Keifer Heckman has 56 points this season, putting him fifth in the NE-10, and his 42 goals are good for fourth.
Will Thompson leads the Penmen with 43 ground balls and 24 caused turnovers this season. Goalkeeper Tyler Walsh is 8-1 on the year with a .515 save percentage and 11.39 goals-against average.
The Setters and Penmen will face off at 7 p.m. at Dr. George J. Larkin Field on Tuesday, May 3. The winner of Tuesday's matchup will visit top-seeded Le Moyne College in the semifinal round on Friday, May 6, at 2 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).
