FAIRFIELD, Conn.-- The Sacred Heart men's lacrosse team has secured the fifth seed for their debut in the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference postseason tournament. The Pioneers will travel to the fourth seed, Siena College, for a first-round game on Saturday, April 29 at noon. 

Regular Season 
Sacred Heart finished the regular season with a 5-9 overall record and was 5-4 in the MAAC. Siena has an overall record of 7-6 and a MAAC record of 5-4 and held the tiebreakers to secure the fourth seed.
The Pioneers picked up its first win of the season at home against Virginia Military Institute, 16-4 on March 25. SHU had a three-game win streak starting on April 1 with a home victory over LIU, followed by a 13-9 road win over Wagner, and then a 13-11 home victory over Quinnipiac. The Pioneers ended the regular season with a 15-8 win over Canisius and clinched the fifth seed in the MAAC tournament. 

Postseason
The Pioneers return to the postseason for the first time since the 2019 season, where they fell to Hobart in the Northeast Conference semifinal. This will be Sacred Heart's first postseason in the MAAC after five total postseason appearances in the NEC. 

Series vs Siena
This is the first postseason meeting between Sacred Heart and Siena and the fourth overall meeting. The teams first played against each other in 2000 when the Pioneers defeated the Saints, 17-9, and played again in 2001 with a 20-2 victory for SHU. The teams would not see each other again until the this season, when Siena won at home, 11-8, to open conference play. 

Last Time Out
The Pioneers were on the road to open MAAC play at Siena on Saturday, March 11. Siena came away with an 11-8 victory for their first win in conference action. Sacred Heart junior Sal Miccio led the Pioneers with three points from two goals and one assist. Jake Ward and Tucker Spencer had a goal and an assist each for the Pioneers. Nicky Casano won 15 of 22 face-offs, collecting nine ground balls. Junior goalkeeper Alex Pazienza made 16 saves for SHU. 

Siena had a 5-4 lead at halftime and scored first in the third quarter, but Sacred Heart answered with three consecutive goals, including two from  Miccio and one from Ward, to give the Pioneers a 7-6 lead. Rocco Babero tied the game for Siena with a goal at 2:47 in the third, heading into the final quarter with a 7-7 tie.

Siena outscored SHU, 4-1 in the fourth quarter to take the 11-8 final.

SHU Leaders
The Pioneers have four players with 30+ points this season. Jake Ward leads Sacred Heart in points (35) and is the leader in goals (28). He is 10th in the MAAC in goals per game as he averaged 2.00 per game. Sal Miccio is second on the team in points (34) with 21 goals and is tied for the first on the team in assists at 13. Carson Spooner also has 21 goals with 10 assists for 31 points. Jake Garb is third on the team in overall points with 33, coming from 20 goals, and tied for the team lead in assists with 13. 

On the defensive end, Jack Ramsay is the team leader in caused turnovers with 12 and is third on the team with 26 ground balls. 

In between the pipes is junior goalkeeper Alex Pazienza. He is fourth in the MAAC with an 11.74 goals-against average and third in the conference with a .530 save percentage. He has recorded 183 saves this season, was named to the USILA Division I Dynamic Team of the week, and recorded a career-high 18 saves twice this season, first against Stony Brook and then at home against LIU. 

Nicky Casano leads the SHU face-off team as he has won 125 of 268 face-offs this season. He is the team leader in ground balls with 48, while also recording a goal and assist during the season. 

MAAC Tournament
The 2023 MAAC Men's Lacrosse Championship is a six-team, single-elimination tournament taking place between April 29-May 6, 2023. The tournament will be hosted by the higher seeds in the Opening Round and by the highest seed for the Semifinals and Championship.

Opening Round - Saturday, April 29
No. 4 Siena vs. No. 5 Sacred Heart @ 12:00 PM (ESPN+)
No. 3 Marist vs. No. 6 Quinnipiac @ 7:00 PM (ESPN+) 

Semifinal Round - Thursday, May 4            
No. 1 Manhattan vs. Lowest Remaining Seed
No. 2 Mount St. Mary's vs. Highest Remaining Seed            

Championship Game - Saturday, May 6
Semifinal Winner 1 vs. Semifinal Winner 2