FAIRFIELD, Conn.—After defeating Quinnipiac 18-11 in a Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC) semifinal on Thursday, the Sacred Heart University men's lacrosse team is set to defend its title. The top-seeded Pioneers will face the #2 seed, Siena, on Saturday afternoon in the MAAC championship game at home on Campus Field at 12:30 PM.
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THE MATCHUP
- Sacred Heart and Siena, the co-regular season champions, will meet in the MAAC postseason tournament for the third straight season and for the first time in the MAAC Championship game.
- The top-seeded Pioneers defeated #6 Quinnipiac 18-11 in the semifinal game on Thursday. Meanwhile, #2 Siena defeated #3 Marist, 15-14, in come-from-behind fashion to claim its spot in the MAAC Championship game.
- During the regular season, Sacred Heart defeated Siena 11-10 in overtime at home on March 15.
- The teams have met five times since 2023. SHU has won the last three meetings, and Siena won the first two.
- The Pioneers have not lost to Siena since the first round of the 2023 MAAC tournament, 13-11, on the road.
PIOS IN THE POSTSEASON
- Sacred Heart is making its third straight appearance in the MAAC postseason tournament and second consecutive in the championship game.
- The Pioneers are the defending champions after winning the regular season and postseason titles in 2024 for the first time.
- Last year, SHU made its first appearance in the NCAA Tournament, taking on UAlbany in the opening round.
- This is SHU's second straight number-one seed but could not host last season as an affiliate member of the conference.
TEAM NOTABLES
- Sacred Heart has been nationally ranked, for the first time in program history, throughout the final weeks of the regular season. The Pioneers broke into the Inside Lacrosse Media Poll at #20 during the Week 10 poll. SHU moved up to the #16 spot in the Week 11 poll. The same week, the Pios had their first ranking in the USILA poll at #20. SHU is currently #16 in the IL Poll and #19 in the USILA poll.
- SHU has not lost a game on Campus Field since February 4, 2024.
- Graduate goalie Alex Pazienza broke the all-time saves record this season and now has 610 and counting and is the all-time wins leader with 30 so far.
- Jake Ward is third all-time in assists in SHU's DI history with 69 and is fourth all-time in points in the Pios DI history with 159.
- Ward is the team leader in points (41). Followed by Tucker Spencer and John Murray with 38. Spencer is first on the team and second in the MAAC in goals (33) while Ward is first on the team and second in the league in assists (27).
- Defensively, Jack Ramsay (18) and Pazienza (17) lead the team in caused turnovers. Luke Romanek is the team leader in ground balls with 71 and has a 150-270 faceoff record.
POSTSEASON AWARDS
MORE ON THE PIOS
Tucker Spencer paced the Sacred Heart offense this season. He leads the team and is second in the conference in goals (33) and is second on the team lead in points (38). John Murray is having a breakout junior season. He is second on the team in goals (23), assists (15), and tied for second in points (38) as a key contributor to Sacred Heart's offense. In two games this season, Murray has been the overtime hero, scoring the game-winning goal against Siena on March 15 and then again against Marist on March 29. Ward is the team leader in points (41), leads the team and is second in the conference in assists (27), and has 14 goals this season. The senior attackman has 10 multi-point games this season. He has 29 ground balls along with four caused turnovers.
Luke Catolico has been one of the core pieces of the Pioneers' shutdown defense this season. The senior captain has caused eight turnovers and has picked up 23 ground balls. Ramsay has also been a force on the Pioneers' defense all season. He is the team leader and is fifth in the MAAC in caused turnovers (17) and is fourth on the team in GBS (27).
Michael Amoruso has been another key contributor to the Pios' defensive unit. The junior long-stick midfielder is fourth on the team in caused turnovers (12) and second in ground balls (36). Pazienza has been solid in between the pipes all season long as he became the Sacred Heart all-time leader in saves and wins. He has the top GAA in the conference (8.39), which is ranked fifth in the country. His 57.1% save percentage is second in the MAAC and 12th in the nation. He is second on the team in caused turnovers (17) and ground balls (33).
TOP IN THE NATION
The Pios are well represented in the national stat categories. Ward is tied for 22nd in assists per game (1.92). Luke Romanek's .541 faceoff win percentage is 31st, and his 4.31 ground balls per game is 47th. Spencer's 3.00 goals per game is tied for 9th. Pazienza's 8.28 GAA is 5th in the country, his .573 save percentage is 11th, and his 10.92 saves per game is 41st. As a team, Sacred Heart's 7.38 assists per game is tied for 21st, the 9.54 CT per game is 14th, its .882 clearing percentage is 13th, the .540 faceoff win percentage is 22nd, the 32.62 GB per game is 24th, the man-down defense is 14th. The Pios average 19.62 points per game, which is ranked 25th. SHU is ranked 5th in scoring defense, 11th in scoring margin (3.92), 22nd in scoring offense (12.23). The Pioneers are tied for 5th in win percentage (.846).
ABOUT THE SAINTS
#2 Siena defeated #3 Marist on Thursday evening in a come-from-behind thrilling victory. Ryan McCarthy scored at 9:47 and then again at 1:43 to take the 15-14 final, sending the Saints to the championship game.
Sacred Heart defeated Siena in the regular season, 11-10 (OT) on March 15.
The two teams finished with a 7-1 record to share the regular season title. Sacred Heart held the tiebreaker to claim the #1 seed in the tournament.
Siena had 13 All-MAAC selections, highlighted by first-year Logan Banek being named the MAAC Rookie of the Year and Faceoff Specialist of the Year.
Senior Pratt Reynolds was the unanimous choice for Offensive Player of the Year.
Head Coach Liam Gleason was named the MAAC Coach of the Year.
