RINDGE, N.H. – Led by a stellar defensive effort, the 17th-ranked Pace University men's lacrosse team recorded an 11-5 victory over Franklin Pierce on Tuesday afternoon. The win puts Pace's record at 6-5 overall this season, and 5-4 against the Northeast-10 Conference.
Inside the Numbers
*Senior Robert Beshlian (Wantagh, NY/Wantagh), who has been enjoying a stellar year in net, added 14 more saves against the Ravens. He was especially impressive in the second half, putting together eight stops over the final 30 minutes.
*Beshlian has made the third-most saves in the NE10 this season (136) while ranking second in the conference in save percentage (58.9).
*Offensively, Bradley Paterson (Caldwell, NJ/Depaul Catholic) guided the way on Tuesday. Pace's leading point-scorer this season tacked on four more off three goals and an assist.
*Senior Joshua Kreitler (Shelton, CT/Shelton) also put in three tallies for Pace while Wyatt Barfoot (Georgian Bluffs, Ontario/St. Mary's) and Joseph Diggle (West Islip, NY/West Islip) each recorded multiple points for the Blue and Gold. Barfoot had a goal and an assist while Diggle registered a pair of helpers.
*Daniel Keenan (Mount Sinai, NY/Mount Sinai), Vincent Vasheo (Wantagh, NY/Wantagh), Ryan O'Hagan (Watervliet, NY/Christian Brothers Academy), and Peter Bashar (Stratford, CT/St. Joseph) served as the other Setter scorers on the afternoon.
*Sophomore Daniel Lewis (Bohemia, NY/Connetquot) led Pace with three caused turnovers while Steven Weindler (Shoreham, NY/Shoreham Wading River) grabbed a team-high six ground balls.
*Besides in goals, Pace and Franklin Pierce ended the game with fairly even statistical numbers. The Setters earned narrow edges in shots on goal (21-19) and face-offs (10-9), while the Ravens tallied a 26-25 margin in ground balls.
How it Happened
Following an extremely low-scoring first-half, it was a pair of 3-0 runs for Pace after halftime that proved to be the difference in the game.
The Setters put together a pair of 2-1 quarters in the first half to build up a 4-2 lead at the break. The Setters had four different scorers in the first 30—Vasheo, O'Hagan, Barfoot and Keenan.
After Franklin Pierce cut the lead to 4-3 to begin the second half, Pace rattled off three-straight goals to take their first four-goal edge of the game. Paterson found the back of net twice in row to cap off the stretch.
Following one more goal from the Ravens, Pace put the game away with their second 3-0 stretch of the second half. Back-to-back goals from Kreitler, after one from Bashar, provided the Blue and Gold with a 10-4 lead.
The Setters and Ravens exchanged goals over the final 10:46 of regulation, leaving Pace with the 11-5 triumph on the road.
Up Next
The Setters will play their final road game of the regular season on Saturday against Bentley University. Pace and the Falcons are set for a 1 p.m. start in Waltham.
Â
