#shulacrosse

[brianhrdss]

FAIRFIELD, Conn. – Sacred Heart Head Men's Lacrosse Coach Jon Basti announced three changes to his coaching staff for the upcoming 2018 season. Chase Calkin has been named Coordinator of Operations, Mike Chanenchuk has been added as an assistant coach and offensive coordinator, and former Pioneer Ian Farley is the new volunteer assistant coach. Current assistant coach Erich Skelly has added recruiting coordinator to his duties.

Calkin is entering his third season at Sacred Heart. Under his guidance, SHU had two of the top six faceoff specialists in the Northeast Conference last season in Jake Giaquinto and Mike Calvagna. Giaquinto was an NEC All-Rookie team selection last season, winning 52.8% of his faceoffs. Calkin's new role will have him working on game scouting and video preparation.

Basti on Calkin: "Chase is someone that has brought a lot to our program over the last two years. We're very happy to keep him on staff and help us with his new role."

Chanenchuk comes to SHU after serving at an assistant coach at New York Institute of Technology for the last two years. Under his direction as offensive coordinator the Bears averaged 12.29 goals per game last season and went 14-3, winning their first East Coast Conference tournament championship.

As a collegian, Chanenchuk was an All-American at both Princeton and Maryland. Chanenchuk was the 2010 Ivy League Rookie of the Year at Princeton, earning First Team All-Ivy League and USILA Second Team All-American honors. While at Maryland, Chanenchuk was a two-time All-American in 2013 and 2014 as the Terrapins reached the 2014 NCAA national semifinals. Chanenchuk has been a member of Major League Lacrosse's Charlotte Hounds since being selected 11th overall in the 2014 draft, and has twice been named an MLL All-Star.

Basti on Chanenchuk: "We're very excited about adding Mike to the coaching staff. He brings a lot of playing experience at the highest levels in our sport. That has translated into him becoming a very good coach, especially when it comes to teaching the fundamentals of the game and helping our players improve on every level. Mike's experience as both a player and a coach is exactly what we need to help us get to the next level of success for our program."

Farley graduated from Sacred Heart in 2015, where he played in 23 games as a Pioneer. In his senior season, Farley scored 15 goals and had 19 points. He started his collegiate coaching career as a volunteer assistant at Vassar College in 2015 before moving on to John Carroll University for the 2016 season. As an Assistant Coach, he helped lead John Carroll to an OAC Championship and berth in the NCAA Tournament. Farley spent last season as an assistant coach at Marist, working primarily with the face-off unit as the Red Foxes reached the MAAC title game.

Basti on Farley: "Anytime you can have an alumnus come back to be a part of the program, it's a privilege. We're happy to have Ian back on campus with us. His work ethic and leadership as a player, captain, and coach is very high. He'll be a tremendous influence on our players and will improve their experience here at SHU even more."

The Pioneers reached the NEC tournament for the third time last season, finishing the year with a record of 9-6.

[brianhrdss]

Sacred Heart Women’s Lacrosse vs Central Connecticut - Today 3:00pm

Link to the live Video Feed for today’s game:

http://necfrontrow.com/webcast.php/SHU-4131/

Link to the live Stats for today’s game: 

http://www.sacredheartpioneers.com/sports/w-lacros/2016-17/boxscores/20170407_wfwg.xml

[brianhrdss]

FAIRFIELD, Conn. – The Sacred Heart women's lacrosse team lost its third straight game Saturday, a 10-8 decision to the UMass Lowell River Hawks at Campus Field.

Caitlin Delaney and Kylie Calandra both had two goals and an assist to lead SHU offensively. Delaney also added seven groundballs, seven caused turnovers, and four draw controls. Alyssa Pearce and Aver Farhat both had a pair of goals.

Sacred Heart (2-4) opened the scoring with 27:57 to play in the first half as Calandra assisted on a Pearce goal. UMass Lowell then got back-to-back goals from Rebecca Idson and Kaylan DiModugno to take a 2-1 lead with 21:44 remaining in the half. The Pioneers responded with goals from Calandra and Pearce to give SHU a 3-2 lead at the 8:57 mark. The River Hawks took a 4-3 lead into halftime after goals by Paige McEachern and Taylor Sokol.

UMass Lowell (3-2) capped a three-goal run with an Austin Trasatti tally 0:27 into the second half to give the River Hawks a 5-3 lead. The Pioneers came back to tie the game 5-5 at the 25:58 mark on goals by Farhat and Delaney. The River Hawks then scored five straight goals, getting two each from DiModugno and Trasatti, to take a commanding 10-5 lead with 8:55 to go. SHU would make a late rally. Calandra scored at the 7:23 mark with an assist from Delaney to make the score 10-6. Four minutes later, Delaney scored her second goal with 3:23 to play to cut the deficit to three, 10-7. Farhat scored off of a free-position shot with 2:35 remaining to make the score 10-8, but that would be as close as SHU would get.

The River Hawks outshot the Pioneers 21-19, but it was SHU that held a 22-19 advantage in groundballs. Trasatti and DiModugno each had hat tricks for UMass Lowell. Goalie Courtney Barrett made six saves for the River Hawks.

The Pioneers make the short trip to Fairfield Wednesday for a 3 p.m. matchup.

[brianhrdss]

FAIRFIELD, Conn. – The Sacred Heart men's lacrosse team opened Northeast Conference play Saturday with a 12-9 loss to the Robert Morris Colonials at Campus Field.

Seniors Brian Masi and Ryan O'Donoghue both reached career milestones Saturday. With his hat trick, Masi reached 100 career points. Sixty-seven of his 100 career points are goals. O'Donoghue eclipsed 100 career caused turnovers with his three Saturday, giving him 101 for his career. Bryce Jurk and Kevin Cop both had three points on two goals and an assist.

After an early Robert Morris (5-3, 1-0 NEC) goal, SHU got two goals in 0:12 as Max Tuttle and Cop gave the Pioneers a 2-1 lead with 11:07 remaining in the opening quarter.  The two teams traded goals for the remainder of the quarter, with the Pioneers taking a 4-3 lead at the 2:10 mark on Masi's first goal of the game. Colonials goalie Alex Heger stymied SHU in the second quarter, making eight saves while allowing just one goal. That allowed RMU to rattle off four unanswered goals with Zachary Bryant's goal at the 9:09 mark putting the Colonials ahead 7-4. Robert Morris took an 8-5 lead at halftime after Adrian Torok-Orban's goal with 5:14 to play in the second.

Sacred Heart (4-3, 0-1 NEC) got an early goal from Joe Saggese in the third quarter to keep the deficit at three, 9-6. The Colonials took their largest lead of the game with 5:35 to play in the quarter on a Tyson Gibson goal that made the score 11-6. The Pioneers got back within three with 12:48 to go in the fourth, when Cop and Masi scored back-to-back goals to put the score at 11-8. The Pioneers outshot the Colonials 10-4 in the fourth quarter but only mustered one more goal as RMU won 12-9.

SHU outshot RMU 52-26, including a 25-10 margin in the second half. The Pioneers also held a 36-26 advantage in groundballs and won 16 of 24 faceoffs. Ryan Smith led the Colonials with three goals. Gibson and Carter Yepsen both had four points. Yepsen had two goals and two assists as Gibson added a goal and three assists. Heger made 17 saves for RMU.

The Pioneers are back in action at Campus Field on Saturday, March 25 for a 1 p.m. game against Hobart. Next Saturday's game is SHU Men's Lacrosse's annual "Faceoff for a Cause" game to benefit the Wounded Warrior Project.

[brianhrdss]

FAIRFIELD, Conn. – The Sacred Heart men's lacrosse team fell to the Vermont Catamounts 11-10 on Saturday at Campus Field. Vermont's Jack Knight scored the game-winning goal with 0.9 seconds left.

Sophomore midfielder Max Tuttle had a game-high five goals to lead the Pioneers. Bryce Jurk had five points as well on four goals and an assist. Nick Albanese led SHU with seven groundballs. Ryan O'Donoghue had five caused turnovers and three ground balls. Brooks Dutton made eight saves in goal.

Vermont (4-3) took an early 1-0 lead as Alex Stanko scored 1:36 into the game. Sacred Heart responded with goals by Tuttle and Jurk to give the Pioneers a 2-1 lead at the 5:13 mark. The Catamounts then scored two straight goals as Cam Milligan's tally put Vermont ahead 3-2 with 2:27 left in the first. Tuttle tied the game 3-3 with 0:58 left in the quarter with a man-up goal assisted by Jurk. With the game tied 4-4 with 8:43 to play in the second quarter, Vermont went on a three-goal run to take a 7-4 lead at halftime. Knight scored with 7:43 left in the half to break the tie, with Dawes Milchling scoring two goals in 46 seconds to make the score 7-4 at the 5:27 mark.

Sacred Heart (4-2) scored back-to-back goals to open the third quarter. Tuttle scored his third goal of the game at the 12:31 mark, with Julian Garritano scoring with 11:01 left in the third to get SHU within one 7-6. The two teams traded goals for the remainder of the quarter, with Milchling's third goal of the game giving Vermont a 9-7 advantage heading into the final quarter.

The Pioneers erased that deficit in the first 4:40 of the fourth. Tuttle scored with 12:45 remaining to make the score 9-8. At the 10:20 mark, Jurk put a Joe Saggese pass into the net to tie the game at 9-9. The Catamounts took the lead again with 6:17 to go on a goal by Michael Clarke. Tuttle tied the game 10-10 with 1:39 remaining. Vermont won the ensuing faceoff to have the final possession of regulation. After a timeout with 0:11 remaining, Knight scored with less than one second left on the clock to give Vermont the 11-10 win.

Sacred Heart outshot Vermont 39-27 and forced 19 Catamount turnovers. The Catamounts held a 27-23 edge in groundballs and won 18 of 23 faceoffs. Vermont was 1-for-7 in extra-man opportunities, with the Pioneers 1-for-4. Knight led the Catamounts with five points on two goals and three assists. Stanko and Ben French both had two goals and an assist. Goalie Nick Washuta made 15 saves.

The Pioneers open Northeast Conference play next Saturday, March 18, at Campus Field against Robert Morris. Faceoff is at 12 p.m.

[brianhrdss]

FAIRFIELD, Conn. – The Sacred Heart women's lacrosse team dropped a 15-10 decision to the Marist Red Foxes Saturday afternoon at Campus Field. Caitlin Delaney and Alyssa Pearce each had hat tricks for the Pioneers. Delaney also scored her 100th career goal in the game, while adding five groundballs and five caused turnovers. Freshman Sydney Ericson had a goal and two assists. Cassie Cesario had six draw controls and two caused turnovers. Olivia Mittleman caused three turnovers as well. Sacred Heart (2-3) struck first on a Delaney goal 2:13 into the game. Marist then scored five unanswered goals, with three from Samantha Mehalick, to take a four-goal lead at the 18:53 mark. Eighteen seconds later, Delaney scored her 100th career goal to make the score 5-2. Kylie Calandra added a goal with 16:32 left in the half to get the Pioneers within two, 5-3. The Red Foxes pulled away with six straight tallies to end the half, as a Lauren Mazza tally with 0:01 left gave Marist an 11-3 halftime lead. Marist (3-3) scored first in the second half, but the Pioneers rallied back. Sacred Heart went on a 4-1 run in under 15 minutes, as goals by Pearce, Ericson, Liana Doyle, and Averi Farhat made the score 13-7 with 13:48 to play. After a Hailey Wagner goal at the 8:30 mark put Marist back up by seven, 14-7, SHU scored three straight goals to close the gap to four at 14-10. That would be as close as the Pioneers would get. The Red Foxes outshot the Pioneers 33-31 and had 16 draw controls to SHU's 10. The Pioneers held a 14-12 advantage in groundballs and forced 23 Marist turnovers. Olivia Pitonzo led the Red Foxes with six points on three goals and three assists. Mehalick and Natalie Bonarati also scored three goals. Abigail Witczak made 15 saves in goal. Sacred Heart is back in action at Campus Field on Saturday, March 18 against UMass Lowell at 3 p.m.

[brianhrdss]

FAIRFIELD, Conn. – Sacred Heart's lacrosse doubleheader for Saturday will be played as scheduled with expected cold weather in the forecast.

The Pioneers' women's lacrosse team will play Marist at 12 p.m. The men's team will follow at 3 p.m. against Vermont. Sacred Heart will offer free admission to both games.

Fans will be able to follow live stats for both games at the following links:

Women's Lacrosse vs. Marist

Men's Lacrosse vs. Vermont

[brianhrdss]

FAIRFIELD, Conn. – The Sacred Heart women's lacrosse team rallied from a three-goal halftime deficit against the Iona Gaels Wednesday to force overtime at Campus Field, but it was the Gaels that came out on top 14-13.

Alyssa Pearce led SHU with four goals, scoring three in the final 8:14 of regulation. Freshman Cassie Cesario had a career-high three goals and three assists for six points. Senior Caitlin Delaney had seven points on two goals and a career-high five assists. She also had three draw controls and four caused turnovers. Paige Hammick made 11 saves in goal.

Iona (3-4) jumped out to a 5-1 lead in the first 13:24, using a 4-0 run with goals from Katelyn Noschese, Erin Pugh, and two by Christine Gironda. The Pioneers snapped a near nine-minute scoring drought with Averi Farhat's free position goal at the 15:48 mark, making the score 5-2. After back-to-back Gaels goals put Iona in front 7-2, Pearce and Delaney scored two straight goals to make the halftime deficit three at 7-4.

Sacred Heart (2-2) came alive in the second half. After an early Iona tally, the Pioneers scored six unanswered goals in 13:49 to take a 10-8 lead. Cesario scored the final three goals of the run to give SHU its first lead of the game. Delaney assisted on five of the six tallies. Iona responded with goals from Pamela Giordano, Grace Celona, and Noschese to re-take the lead, 11-10, with 9:07 left in the second half. Pearce and Gironda traded goals for the remainder of regulation. Gironda put the Gaels ahead 13-12 with 1:47 to play, but Pearce tied the game with 0:35 left with an assist from Cesario. Iona won the opening draw of overtime, and got the game-winning goal from Noschese 1:21 into the extra period to give the Gaels the 14-13 win.

Iona outshot Sacred Heart 30-28 and held a 17-13 edge in groundballs. The Pioneers forced 20 Iona turnovers but committed 24. Gironda led the Gaels with five goals and had six points. Celona had seven points on a goal and a game-high six assists. Noschese added four goals.

The Pioneers return to Campus Field on Saturday, March 11 for a 12 p.m. game against Marist.

[brianhrdss]

SHU Men's Lacrosse Season Is Here!

SHU Men's Lacrosse 2017 Season is back at Campus Field!

[brianhrdss]

SHU Men's Lacrosse 2017 Season Preview

SHU Men's Lacrosse Head Coach Jon Basti previews the upcoming 2017 season on the SHU Sports Report. The Pioneers open the season Feb. 14 at Campus Field against Stony Brook.