In a meeting of two of the top teams in the NEC, Saint Joe’s left no doubt, winning 13-5. Zach Cole went 20-of-22 at the face-off X, surpassing 400 wins on his career, and Evan Campbell (3G, 2A) led Hawk scoring. Saint Joe’s as decisive from start to finish, moving into sole possession of first place in the NEC at 6-0 (6-3 overall). That was a well-earned victory over a very good lacrosse team, said coach Taylor Wray. Every time you play the Bryant Bulldogs, you know you are going to be in for a really physical, highly-contested game. I thought our defense played terrific and executed the game plan well. The face-off game was highly tilted in our favor, which stopped Bryant from making their traditional runs, and we made some plays in transition that allowed us to separate. Evan Campbell was terrific on both ends of the field today, Josh Bosher had his best game of the season, and Zach Cole returns to form at the face-off. There s a lot to be proud of from this game, and a lo
Mike Pressler was emotional even after arriving home from the stadium on Saturday.
“The sacrifice you make. All the sacrifices these guys have made all these other teams are doing it too, so we’re no different, but I care about us. What they’ve given up just to get back on the field. To see them rejoice in a big-time quality in-state rival situation. It brought me to my knees,” he said via Zoom, tearing up following Bryant’s gutsy 9-8 win against Providence in Beirne Stadium.
The Bulldogs’ special teams excelled in the tight victory. Luke Caracciolo made 16 saves, Nathan Laliberte won 12-of-17 face-offs and new players stepped up for missing teammates.