PLEASANTVILLE, N.Y. – The No. 5/6-ranked Pace University men's lacrosse team has qualified for the 2017 Northeast-10 Conference Men's Lacrosse Championships, and enters this week's tournament as the No. 4 seed. The Setters will host fifth-seeded Saint Anselm College at Pace Stadium on Tuesday, May 2, at 7 p.m., in the NE10 Championship First Round.
 
GAME INFORMATION
WHO: #4 Pace vs. #5 Saint Anselm
WHAT: 2017 NE10 Championship First Round
WHERE: Pace Stadium – Pleasantville, NY
WHEN: Tuesday, May 2 – 7 p.m.
WHY: Championship Glory!
 
TICKETS
$6 for Adults, Faculty and Staff
$4 for Senior Citizens and Youth
$1 for Students without Pace ID
FREE for Students with Pace ID
 
HOW TO WATCH
Live Stats: www.sidearmstats.com/pace/mlax
Live Video: www.PaceUAthletics.com/watchlive
 
NATIONAL RANKINGS
USILA:
Pace - #5
Saint Anselm - #14
 
US Lacrosse Magazine:
Pace - #6
Saint Anselm - #17
 
LAST TIME THEY MET
The Setters and Hawks last met on Saturday, April 1, when the Pace hosted Saint Anselm at Pace Stadium. The competitive contest went to the break with Pace leading by just a goal at 5-4. Three straight goals to open the second half gave Pace a comfortable 8-4 lead, but the Hawks battled back to make it a close 9-7 game with 10:44 to play. Sophomores Wyatt Barfoot (Georgian Bluffs, Ontario/St. Mary's) and Bradley Paterson (Caldwell, NJ/Depaul Catholic) scored back-to-back goals to close the door and help Pace hang on for an 11-8 victory. Paterson led all scorers with five points on the afternoon on two goals and three assists.
 
Full Game Recap:
No. 9/10 Pace Men's Lacrosse Pulls Away in Second Half to Defeat No. 17 Saint Anselm
 
A DEEPER LOOK AT THE SETTERS
Pace heads into Tuesday's First Round contest riding a six-game winning streak, including a road victory over the tournament's top seed, No. 3-ranked Adelphi University, to finish the season 11-2 overall and 9-2 in NE10 play. The Setters also took down nationally-ranked opponents Southern New Hampshire University and Bentley University during this run. Pace launched itself up the national rankings after defeating then-No. 4 New York Institute of Technology by a score of 13-7 on March 8, in just the Setters' second game of the season.
 
As a team, the Setters find themselves near the top of the national rankings in numerous statistical categories. They rank ninth in scoring offense with an average of 13.23 goals scored per game, which also puts them second in the NE10. They are second in the NCAA with 8.62 assists per game, eighth with 21.85 points per game, and 17th with 8.31 goals allowed per game. Pace is also ninth with 9.77 caused turnovers per contest and 12th with 33.38 ground balls per outing.
 
Many individual Setters also rank near the top of the NCAA and NE10 statistical rankings at the end of the regular season. Bradley Paterson (Caldwell, NJ/Depaul Catholic) atop the NE10 with 27 assists, while Liam Brennan (Huntington Station, NY/Walt Whitman) finished right behind him with 26. Paterson ranks ninth in the nation with 2.08 assists per game, while Brennan is 11th with 2.00. Brennan is No. 14 in the nation with 4.31 points per game, and stands second in the NE10 with a total of 56 points. Paterson sits in fifth with 48 points. Junior Joshua Kreitler (Shelton, CT/Shelton) is fourth in the league with a team-high 32 goals. Brennan is tied for fifth in the NE10 with 30 goals.
 
While they are highly impressive on offense, the Setters are no slouches defensively. Senior Brandon Donnellan (Chester, NY/Warwick Valley) is third in the NE10 with 23 caused turnovers, and tied for 23rd in all of Division II with 1.77 caused turnovers per game. Junior goalkeeper Robert Beshlian (Wantagh, NY/Wantagh) is second in the NE10 with a .585 save percentage, which also places him eighth in the nation. He is also fourth in the conference with an 8.29 goals-against average, good for 12th in all of Division II.
 
SCOUTING THE HAWKS
Saint Anselm enters the 2017 postseason having won four of its last five games to finish with an 8-5 overall record and a 7-4 mark in NE10 contests. All five of the Hawks' losses have come against nationally-ranked opponents, while they have also defeated a pair of ranked foes in Southern New Hampshire and Bentley. The Hawks took No. 3 Adelphi to the brink back on April 5, falling in double overtime by a score of 11-10.
 
The Hawks currently rank 17th in the nation in scoring offense, averaging 12.46 goals per game. Their 18.77 points per game are good for 18th in Division II, while they rank 35th nationally with 10.08 goals allowed per contest. Saint Anselm is No. 3 in the NCAA with 36.23 ground balls per outing, and eighth with an average of 9.85 caused turnovers.
 
Saint Anselm's James Olsen is eighth in the NE10 with 40 points on the season. Patrick Sweeney currently stands tied for fifth in the NE10 with 30 goals. Olsen and Anthony Busconi are tied with Pace's Wyatt Barfoot (Georgian Bluffs, Ontario/St. Mary's) and Southern New Hampshire's Keifer Heckman for seventh in the league with 15 assists.
 
On defense, Brennan Quackenbush leads the NE10 with 28 caused turnovers this season. Chris McCormack and Derrick LaBranche are 10th and 12th in the conference with 53 and 47 ground balls, respectively. Goalkeeper Lucas DeAngelo is seventh with a .533 save percentage and a 9.76 goals-against average.
 
THE REST OF THE FIELD
Adelphi earned the No. 1 seed in the tournament after going 13-2 overall and 10-1 in NE10 play, falling to Pace for its only conference loss. Defending National Champion, No. 2 Le Moyne College, finished 9-2 in the NE10, and earned the second seed via tiebreaker rules over Merrimack College and Pace.
 
As the No. 3 seed, Merrimack will host No. 6 Southern New Hampshire University on Tuesday as well. The winner of that contest will take on Le Moyne on Friday, May 5, while the winner of Pace vs. Saint Anselm will challenge Adelphi that same day.
 
CHAMPIONSHIP INFORMATION
2017 NE10 Men's Lacrosse Championship
1. Adelphi (10-1)
2. Le Moyne (9-2) *
3. Merrimack (9-2) *
4. Pace (9-2) *
5. Saint Anselm (7-4)
6. Southern New Hampshire (6-5) 

* In the "mini-conference" of Le Moyne, Merrimack and Pace, Le Moyne earned the #2 seed based on a 2-0 record in the mini-conference; Merrimack earned the #3 seed with a 1-1 record and Pace the #4 seed with a 0-2 record.

Tuesday, May 2^nd    
First Round ­
Game 1: #6 SNHU at #3 Merrimack, 7:00 pm
Game 2: #5 Saint Anselm at #4 Pace, 7:00 pm 

Friday, May 5^th  
Semifinals
Game 3: Game 2 winner at #1 Adelphi, 7:00 pm
Game 4: Game 1 winner at #2 Le Moyne, 11:00 am

Sunday, May 7^th   
 Championship­ at Highest Remaining Seed
Game 5: Game 3 winner vs. Game 4 winner – 1:00 p.m. at Higher Seed ** 
** The championship game time may be adjusted if one institution ends up hosting both the men's and women's championship games.
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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