WALTHAM, Mass. – In a back and forth contest, the 17th-ranked Pace University men's lacrosse team was on the wrong end of a 10-9 decision at Bentley University on Saturday afternoon. The loss shifts the Setters to 6-6 overall this season, and 5-5 inside the NE10.
Inside the Numbers
*Two-goal games from Bradley Paterson (Caldwell, NJ/Depaul Catholic), Ryan O'Hagan (Watervliet, NY/Christian Brothers Academy) and Joseph Diggle (West Islip, NY/West Islip) led the Pace attack. Paterson, who also dished out an assist, continues to lead the Setters in both points (39) and goals (28) this season.
*Liam Brennan (Huntington Station, NY/Walt Whitman), Daniel Keenan (Mount Sinai, NY/Mount Sinai) and Peter Bashar (Stratford, CT/St. Joseph) also knocked in tallies for the Blue and Gold. Brennan added an assist as well to match both Paterson and Diggle with three points.
*Junior Steven Weindler (Shoreham, NY/Shoreham Wading River) nabbed a team-high eight ground balls, while winning 12-of-22 face-offs.
*Senior goalkeeper Robert Beshlian (Wantagh, NY/Wantagh) tallied 14 stops in the losing effort. He is now slotted third in the NE10 in both total saves (150) and save percentage this season (58.8).
*As a team, Pace put together a 28-24 advantage in shots on goal and a 27-23 edge in ground balls.
How it Happened
It was a game filled with runs as both teams put together long stretches of dominant play throughout the contest. The Setters registered a shutout in the opening period, while also scoring three times to take a 3-0 lead.
Bentley answered with four-straight tallies in the second quarter, taking a 4-3 edge with 3:23 left. Bashar put in the final goal of the first half with 39 ticks on the clock, sending the game into halftime at 4-4.
In similar fashion to the first half, Pace started the third quarter strong. The Setters scored the first four goals of the second half, capped off by a tally from Keenan to provide an 8-4 lead with 5:22 left in the third.
Undeterred by the deficit, the Falcons rattled off a 4-0 run of their own to tie the game at 8-8 with 9:50 left in the fourth quarter. O'Hagan would then score the Setters' final goal a minute later to put them up 9-8 at the 8:50 mark.
Following more than seven minutes of scoreless action, Bentley notched two goals within 17 seconds of each other to take a 10-9 edge at the 1:27 mark. Pace was able to put two shots on net over the final minute of action, but both were stopped by Falcons' goalkeeper, Michael Haggan.
Up Next
The Setters will play their final game of the regular season next Friday night at Pace Stadium. The Blue and Gold will celebrate Senior Night prior to a 7 p.m. contest against Assumption College.
