April 20, 2004

Box Score

Providence, RI - The Marist College men's lacrosse team won its fifth straight game, defeating Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC) Lacrosse League for Providence College 7-4, this afternoon at Clay Field in Providence. The Red Foxes remain the lone undefeated in the MAAC, at 6-0, and are now 8-4 on the year overall. The Friars fall to 5-6 overall and 4-2 in conference action.

The two teams played evenly over the first 55 minutes of play, before reigning MAAC Player of the Week Keith Detelj struck again. Providence tied the score at 4-4 on a goal with 6:14 remaining in the fourth quarter. Detelj netted the game-winner with 4:44 to play, off of a pass from Tim Iuculano. Detelj would score his fourth goal of the game with 1:19 to play to give Marist a cushion, to which Andrew Walsh would add with :10 second to play to give the final margin.

After a scoreless first quarter, Senior Jay Nahama opened the scoring, 11:54 into the second quarter, scoring on a Walsh assist for the 1-0 lead. The lead was gone with :33 second to play in the half, on a Mark Bundra goal for Providence, knotting the game at 1-1 heading into intermission. Detelj opened the second half with his first goal, again from a Walsh assist, and Billy Duerr gave Marist a 3-1 edge with 5:39 to play in the third quarter.

Providence responded in the fourth, knotting the score at 3-3 with goals at 14:02 and 11:48. Detelj gave Marist a 4-3 lead with 8:50 to play, as he scored off of a Duerr feed. That lead was again short lived, as Jonathan Hollister scored his second of the game for the Friars with 6:14 to play, to set up the game-winning efforts of Detelj.

Steve Gravino was again impressive in goal for Marist, earning the win, on the strength of 11 saves. In the first quarter and third quarters, in which Marist held the host scoreless, Gravino posted five saves. He made four stops in the second quarter and two more in preserving the win in the fourth quarter. Andrew McMinn made seven saves in a losing effort for the Friars.

Detelj finished with his four goals, as well as a team-high four groundballs, while Walsh added with three points, on a goal and two assists. Nahama added an assist to go along with his goal, and Duerr had two points on a goal and an assist. Hollister led Providence, who out shot Marist 25-23, with two goals and six ground balls.

The Red Foxes were nearly perfect in clearing their own defensive end, being successful on 19-21 total attempts, including a perfect 9-9 in the second half of play. The entire game was played penalty free by both teams. Marist returns to action on Wednesday, April 21st, as it hosts Holy Cross in a non-conference game at 7:00 pm on Leonidoff Field. The Red Foxes return to MAAC Lacrosse League competition on Saturday, traveling to Manhattan. A win over the Jaspers would clinch the Red Foxes first-ever MAAC Regular Season title and the top-seed in the MAAC Tournament, May 7-9 at Canisius College in Buffalo, NY.

The eight wins is the most for a Red Fox men's lacrosse team since 1988, when the team went 8-3. The 1986 team posted the best record in program history at 12-2, and the 1985 team is the only other team to reach double-digit wins., with a 10-6 record.