ALBANY, N.Y.— The Sacred Heart University men's lacrosse team had its 11-game win streak snapped by the University at Albany, 13-7, in the program's first appearance in the NCAA Tournament on Wednesday evening at Casey Stadium. Tucker Spencer and Carson Spooner combined for six points to lead the Pioneers.
Records:
Sacred Heart: 13-5, 9-0 MAAC
UAlbany: 10-7, 6-1 America East
Top Performers:
Tucker Spencer: 3 goals (3 points)
Carson Spooner: 1 goal, 2 assists (3 points)
Jake Ward: 1 goal, 1 assist (2 points)
Alex Pazienza: 13 saves
Of Note:
Sacred Heart trailed early after UAlbany jumped ahead 2-0 through the opening four minutes. Will Moulton got the Pioneers on the board to cut the deficit to one at 9:07, but the Great Danes added one more to hold a 3-1 advantage after the first.
The Pios rattled off the first two goals of the second period, starting with a rocket from Tucker Spencer, followed by Carson Spooner just two minutes later to tie the game at 3-3. UAlbany notched three straight goals to take a 6-3 lead at halftime.
The Great Danes opened the third with a goal to extend their lead to four, 7-3, at 10:59, but SHU answered thanks to a man-up goal from the nation's man-up goal leader, Tucker Spencer, for his second of the day. However, with 4:06 left in the third frame, UAlbany doubled their lead to 8-4. John Murray scored his first goal of the postseason for the Pios to pull within three, 8-5 heading into the final.
UAlbany scored quickly in the fourth period to push ahead by four, 9-5, but Spooner found Jake Ward to put away a one-timer to pull Sacred Heart within three, 9-6. The Great Danes answered at 7:33 and took control of the game from there, scoring four consecutive goals to go ahead 13-6. Spencer completed his hat trick with 25 seconds left in the game, but the Great Danes secured the 13-7 final to advance to the First Round of the NCAA Tournament.
Alex Pazienza had another outstanding showing, tallying 13 saves for the Pioneers. MP Thomas went 7-for-15 on the face-off x.
Sacred Heart's historic run ends in the NCAA Tournament after picking up several program firsts. The Pioneers won the program's first MAAC Regular Season title and MAAC Postseason Championship Title, recorded the most wins in a season (13), and had a program-best 11-game win streak.
Alex Pazienza is the new program record holder for goalkeeper wins in a season (13), and Morgan O'Reilly holds the program record for single-season goals with 54.
