Second-half rally lifts Saints
Senior defenseman Sam Dichristina made the most of his only shot on goal to tie the game and the Siena men’s lacrosse team used a strong second half to top Umass Lowell 16-12 at Hickey Field in Loudonville on Sunday afternoon.
After the game was postponed from Saturday due to frigid conditions, the 11 a.m. start to Sunday’s contest seemed to play in favor of the visiting River Hawks.
Umass Lowell’s Nick Harvath started the scoring off a feed from Garrett Murphy two minutes and four seconds into the game. The River Hawks got their second goal 98 seconds later when Sean Parker slotted in a pass from Harvath.
The Saints finally got on the scoreboard with 7:11 remaining in the first quarter on an unassisted effort by graduate attacker and Ballston Spa alum Zac Schuette. Schuette, who graduated from Ballston Spa in 2018, played four years at Springfield College, where he scored 91 points as a senior in 2022. Schuette, who had two goals and an assist in last weekend’s loss at Providence, tallied two goals and two assists on Sunday for seven points from two contests.
Senior attacker Colin Gleason tied the game for the Saints at the 5:52 mark of the first off an unassisted effort. The teams then traded goals to end the first quarter tied at 3.
The second quarter saw the Saints score three straight before the River Hawks scored four in a row to take a 7-6 lead into halftime.
After faceoff specialist Dylan Pape won the opening draw for the Saints to start the third quarter, River Hawks goalie Luke Renaud stopped three consecutive Siena attempts. Umass Lowell’s Parker then got a shot on goal that was saved by Siena keeper Chris Yanchoris, and the Saints quickly transitioned with junior defenseman Brian Mack setting up Dichristina’s goal with 8:18 left in the third.
The teams then traded goals before sophomore attacker Ryan Mccarthy’s effort at the 7:29 mark off another assist from Mack put the Saints up for good at 9-8. Siena scored the next six in a row, taking a 15-8 lead two minutes into the fourth quarter as the Saints were on their way to their second win of the season.
Schuette’s four-point effort led the Saints, who also got three goals from Gleason. Pape won 11-of-18 faceoff draws for Siena, while Yanchoris stopped 10 shots in goal.
Renaud made 13 saves for the River Hawks in a losing effort, with Harvath leading the scoring with two goals and two assists.
The Saints travel to Hanover, N.H. next weekend to take on Dartmouth at 1 p.m. on Saturday for their final nonleague contest.
The Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference regular season then gets under way on March 11 with a 1 p.m. game against Sacred Heart at Hickey Field in Loudonville.