CARROLL AND RUSSELL SCORE TWICE AS

SAINTS UPEND CLARKSON, 9-7

Apr. 19: The St. Lawrence University men’s lacrosse team extended their active winning streak to seven games with a 9-7 triumph over their North Country rivals, the Clarkson Golden Knights, at North Country Field Wednesday afternoon.

The two schools, known as distinct hockey adversaries, have also built a rivalry in men’s lacrosse over the past few seasons. In a battle of outstanding goaltending, the Saints held off a late Clarkson rally to pick up their eighth win of the season and improve their conference record to 4-0.

Clarkson grabbed the early lead when Bryan Johnson took a pass from Steve Kennedy and fired a shot past Saints’ goaltender Justin Demuth at 3:12 of the opening period. St. Lawrence quickly responded right off the following face-off, though, as freshman PJ Santora won the draw, carried the ball deep into Golden Knight territory, and laced a shot past Clarkson’s Greg Lamb to even the score at 1-1.

After the Knights again regained the lead at 2-1, St. Lawrence responded by scoring five of the last six goals to end the first half. Sophomore Derek Hansen tied the game at 2-2, followed by a goal from fellow classmate Brian Chamberlain to give the Saints their first lead of the game at 3-2. Although Brian Hanlon would tie the score for Clarkson very early in the second quarter at 3-3, the home team would get two goals from freshman Peter Carroll and another from sophomore Kevin Russell to end the first half scoring with the Saints ahead 6-3.

Clarkson’s intensity would not diminish heading into the second half, though, and the Golden Knights came out firing on Demuth in the early going. The visitors scored the opening two goals of the second half to close the gap to 6-5 with plenty of time to play.

St. Lawrence head coach Mike Mahoney would make several adjustments and countered with his corps group of attackers. Sophomore Ben Prime and Russell would tally back-to-back goals a mere 24 seconds apart early in the fourth quarter to extend the Saints’ lead to 8-5.

The Knights made one last push midway through the final frame, as Erik Hilfinger and Brian Hoey scored 42 seconds apart at 7:41 and 8:23 of the fourth to pull the visitors within one yet again at 8-7. Although Clarkson had several opportunities, they were unable to get a shot past Demuth late in the game.

After a St. Lawrence timeout with 55 seconds remaining in the game, junior Nick Mastine managed to get a shot on net while falling to the turf. His shot found the mesh as Lamb was out of position after trying to chase down a ground ball. The goal put the Saints ahead 9-7 and sealed the team’s sixth straight victory.

Although the Saints out-shot Clarkson 46-34, Lamb kept his team in the game with a 20 save performance. However, Demuth was up to the task, as he preserved the St. Lawrence win with 13 saves of his own. For the Saints, Carroll and Russell finished with two goals a piece, while Prime (1g, 1a) and junior Brendan Lynch (2a) finished with two points as well.

The Saints’ victory sets up a showdown for first place in the Liberty League with the RPI Red Hawks on Saturday, April 22nd as both teams enter the game at North Country field undefeated. The battle for first is set to begin at 1:00pm.

SAINTS REMAIN ATOP LIBERTY LEAGUE

STANDINGS WITH 9-6 WIN

Apr. 15: Eight different players on the St. Lawrence University men's lacrosse team scored goals, including two from sophomore attack Ben Prime, as the Saints (7-3, 3-0) defeated Skidmore College 9-6 in a Liberty League match-up in Saratoga Springs, NY on Saturday.

Trailing by one in the early going, head coach Mike Mahoney watched as his offense reeled off five consecutive goals to grab a 5-1 lead midway through the second period. Prime notched the Saints' opening goal at 6:33 of the first quarter to make the game 1-1.

Junior Nick Mastine gave the Saints a 2-1 lead early in the second quarter as he rifled a shot past Skidmore goaltender James deGorter. His goal was soon followed by junior Willie Lapinski and freshman Peter Caroll, who scored only 28 seconds apart less than two minutes after St. Lawrence had taken the lead.

Skidmore bounced back before the end of the first half as Tom Spinella scored his second of the game after the Saints had extended their lead to 5-1. His goal at 8:30 of the second quarter cut the deficit to 5-2. The Thoroughbreds gained even more momentum before the half when Matt Ward scored on St. Lawrence goalie Justin Demuth with only 1:47 to play in the second quarter. The goal made the game a 5-3 affair heading into the second half.

The visiting Saints clamped down in the third quarter, as their offense was able to score four times and their defense was relentless in protecting Demuth. Cory Yawger, Andy Centauro, Kevin Russell, and Brendan Lynch each scored in a span of 4:55 to extend the Saints' lead to 9-3 heading into the final quarter.

Although St. Lawrence was held scoreless on the offensive end in the fourth quarter, they were able to protect the win. Skidmore, trailing by six, was able to notch three goals in the final quarter, but was unable to generate enough offense to force overtime. The Thoroughbreds' three goals in the final frame completed the scoring, and made the final score 9-6.

Prime's two goals led the Saints, while Carroll, Centauro, and Lynch all finished with a goal and an assist on the day as well. Spinella led Skidmore with four goals on nine shots.

Between the pipes, Demuth finished with 10 saves for the Saints while his counterpart deGorter made 16 stops for the Thoroughbreds. Freshman PJ Santora, a face off specialist, has been outstanding for the Saints thus far this season, and he continued to impress on Saturday. The Cos Cob, CT native won 17 of 18 face offs, giving the Saints control of possession and allowing them to outshoot Skidmore 42-28. Santora currently ranks in the top five nationally in face offs.

Saturday's victory keeps the Saints tied at the top of the Liberty League standings with RPI. St. Lawrence will next be in action on Wednesday, April 19th as they play host to the Clarkson Golden Knights at North Country Field. The game is set to begin at 4:00pm.