PROVIDENCE, RI – Three Saints scored hat tricks to lead the Emmanuel College men's lacrosse team to an 11-7 road win over Johnson & Wales University on Saturday afternoon. The win keeps the Saints perfect (5-0) in Great Northeast Athletic Conference play.

Records:

Emmanuel: 6-7, 5-0 GNAC

Johnson & Wales: 7-7, 3-2 GNAC

How It Happened:

Johnson & Wales got out to a good start, outscoring the Saints 2-1 in the first quarter. Julian Bandereck (Topsfield, Mass.) scored at the 12:16 mark of the second quarter to stake JWU to a 3-1 lead. However, Emmanuel responded by scoring nine unanswered goals over the span of 30:18.

Sophomore midfielder Erik Russo (West Grove, Pa.) led the Wildcats with three goals – tying his season-high - and added an assist. Two of those goals came in the fourth quarter as JWU tried to mount a comeback. Erik Lindaas (Putnam Valley,NY) and Owen Macca (West Hartford, Conn.) scored in the final two minutes, but the Wildcats couldn't complete the comeback.

The Saints nearly doubled Johnson & Wales for shots (43-22) and shots on goal (28-15). The Saints also had a 33-28 margin for ground balls. Charlie Moran, Tony Cibelli and Chris Curtis each scored three goals for EC. Moran and Curtis tallied an assist each. Michael Donovan and Justin Kelly both scored lone goals as well.

Up Next:
Johnson & Wales is back at home on Wednesday against Lasell at 7 p.m. for their final home game of the regular season, while the Saints host Anna Maria at 7 p.m. at Clemente Field.

~ RELEASE COURTESY OF JOHNSON & WALES ATHLETICS