Links: Box Score
NORTH ANDOVER, Mass. – The Merrimack College men's lacrosse team honored the class of 2022 pregame Saturday afternoon at Duane Stadium and capped the 2022 season with a 17-9 setback to #20 Saint Joseph's.
In his final game as a Warrior, the program's fourth-highest goal scorer,
Christian Thomas, paced the Merrimack offense, as he found the back of the net twice and added three assists for a five-point outing.
Jack Rooney tallied a hat trick on the day to end the year with the team lead in scoring at 40 points, which was just one ahead of Thomas.
The visitors, who had already clinched home field for the 2022 NEC tournament entering the game, took a 6-2 lead after 15 minutes, then entered the halftime break with a 9-4 edge. Merrimack pushed back midway through the fourth quarter to cut the deficit to six, but the Hawks iced the game with a late pair.
Henry Vogt finished his excellent sophomore campaign in the Warrior cage with nine saves on the day, which puts his save percentage at .561 to close the year. It's the best single season for a Merrimack goalie in the past seven years.
Against far and away the nation's number one face-off man,
Allyn French hung tough with his counterpart the whole game. The junior collected nine ground balls on the day for a team-high and won 13 of his 27 face-offs to end the year with a .509 success rate.
The class was honored prior to the game included
Drew Hailey,
Christian Glover,
Nicholas Perez-Blanco,
Brennan McInnis,
Charlie O'Connor,
Tommy Rooney,
James Gorman,
Robbie Hermansen and
Mason Balch.
The Basics
Score: #20 Saint Joseph's 17,
Merrimack 9
Records: Merrimack (6-6, 3-4 NEC) | Saint Joseph's (12-3, 7-0 NEC)
Rapid Recap
- Saint Joseph's broke through first 46 seconds into the contest with a goal, but the Warriors fought back just under a minute later when Tommy Rooney took a feed in the near alley, then quickly worked the pass to Thomas in the middle of the field for the graduate student's first of the day.
- The visitors regained the lead at the 9:08 mark with a tally, which was short lived thanks to a great individual effort from Thomas on the far side to sneak a shot inside the post to tie the game at two with 8:20 on the clock.
- A 6-0 run from the Hawks bled into the second quarter, as they snared an 8-2 lead with under 10 minutes left in the half.
- Jack Rooney put an end to it with 9:43 to play in the half when he ran from X to the far alley and turned and fired to catch the top corner.
- Saint Joseph's got one back at the 4:53 mark, but the Warriors had the last laugh in the half when Thomas sent a no-look pass from the center of the field to goal-line-extended to the right for Sean Black, who quickly tucked one home with under a minute to play.
- The sides went back-and-forth to open the second half, as Saint Joseph's scored first just 34 seconds in, but Trace Hogan had an answer when Balch connected with him for a goal 40 seconds later on a rocket from the center of the field.
- After the Warrior goal, Saint Joseph's looked to put the game away when it scored four in a row to secure a 14-5 lead in the final six minutes of the third.
- Hailey got the hosts on the board before the fourth when he gathered a Brian Bouwman pass and barged his way inside for the finish.
- Jack Rooney kept momentum going into the final quarter thanks to a goal off a Thomas feed with 11:47 remaining to trim the margin to seven.
- A Saint Joseph's goal with 8:57 to play was answered just 15 seconds afterward when McInnis got the ball off a turnover and unleashed a cannon that rippled the twine.
- Merrimack continued its late game push four minutes when Thomas linked up with Jack Rooney again to the left of the Hawk goal to make it a 15-9 game with 4:21 to play.
- Desperate to draw the margin closer, Merrimack sent Vogt out of his cage as an extra defender, but Saint Joseph's capitalized for a pair to close the scoring at 17-9.
Notes and Numbers
- Carlin Joyal (4), McInnis (3), Jack Barron (3) and Vogt (2) all had multi-ground ball performances.
- Jack Rooney's two caused turnovers led the Warriors. Hogan, Perez-Blanco and Riley Reed also registered one.
- O'Connor won one of his two face-offs.
- Vogt registered a shot on goal, as his bid for a second goal of the year was turned aside.
- Shots: 42-41 Merrimack (26-23 SOG Saint Joseph's)
- Faceoffs: 16-14 Saint Joseph's // Ground Balls: 39-29 Saint Joseph's
- Turnovers (CT): 18-17 Saint Joseph's (8-5 Saint Joseph's) // Clears: Merrimack: 15-19 // Saint Joseph's: 16-20
- Extra-man opportunities: Merrimack: 0-2 // Saint Joseph's: 1-7
Up Next
The Warriors concluded the 2022 season Saturday, as they continue their Division I reclassification process. Merrimack is set to be postseason eligible for the first time during the 2024 season.
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