WORCESTER, Mass. – Grad student attack Jake Veres (Robbinsville, N.J./Robbinsville) had the biggest offensive game of his career, scoring a career-high seven goals and eight points as the No. 11 ranked Pace University men's lacrosse team defeated Assumption University 20-14 Tuesday, April 11 on the road.

The Setters (9-2, 5-2 NE10) jumped in front early, getting three goals in the first 3:07 of the game and outscoring the Greyhounds (2-8, 1-6 NE10) 6-1 in the first quarter. Junior midfielder Rafael Rodriguez, Jr. (Farmingville, N.Y./Sachem East) opened the scoring with a goal at the 1:45 mark, and sophomore attack Daniels Zabbia followed up with one of his own 50 seconds later. Senior attack Marcus Ottaviano (Crystal Beach, Ontario, Canada/Nichols School) then put one in to extend the Pace lead to three.

Following an Assumption goal, Veres got his huge night started with back-to-back goals in a 55-second span. Sophomore midfielder Timmy Morrow (Massapequa Park, N.Y./Massapequa) found the back of the net with three minutes remaining, giving the visitors a 6-1 lead after 15 minutes of play.

The Setters kept up the offense in the second quarter, putting seven more goals on the board. Veres and Zabbia each scored a pair for Pace, while Rodriguez, senior midfielder Anthony Caputo (Westbury, N.Y./W.T Clarke) and freshman midfielder Colin Reese (Babylon, N.Y./West Babylon) netted one apiece. Assumption had four different players score during the period, but both Veres and Zabbia scored their second goals of the quarter in the final 1:18 to extend Pace's lead to 13-5 going into the half.

Zabbia and Veres picked up where they left off to start the third, as both scored their fourth of the night early in the quarter to make it a 15-5 game. Junior midfielder Maxwell Streety (Orchard Park, N.Y./Orchard Park) got on the board following a Greyhounds goal, then Veres continued to dominate, scoring twice in 28 seconds to give Pace a 12-goal lead. The teams then traded goals, with Zabbia scoring his fifth of the night, but a pair of late goals by the home team made it a 19-9 game heading to the fourth.

Assumption outscored the Setters over the final 15 minutes, with Ryan Healey scoring three times for the Greyhounds. Grad student attack Ryan Brown (Northport, N.Y./Central Bucks) scored near the midway point of the quarter, marking the only goal for Pace in the period as the Setters took a 20-14 victory in NE10 play.

Veres led Pace on the night with seven goals and an assist, while Zabbia had five goals and one helper. Streety had 10 ground balls and went 19-of-32 on faceoffs, while grad student goalkeeper Louis Ragusa (Yorktown Heights, N.Y./Yorktown) got the win in net, making five saves.

Up Next

The Setters are back at home Saturday, April 15 for a 7 p.m. matchup with Bentley University, when the team will celebrate Senior Day.