BY NATHAN SOLOMON, SPORTS EDITOR.
This season’s been full of accomplishments for the St. Bonaventure Men’s Lacrosse team. They won their first-ever game as a program just two months ago, and they won their first ever MAAC game a few weeks later. Individually, the Bonnies had four players named to the all-conference team along with Jake Rosa being named the MAAC Offensive Player of the Year.
But now, add another accomplishment into this historic season for St. Bonaventure. The Bonnies won their first ever MAAC Playoff game on Friday, defeating the Detroit Mercy Titans 11-8.
St. Bonaventure came out of the locker room quick, scoring five goals to Detroit’s one in the first quarter to hold a four goal advantage after 15 minutes. However, a scoreless second quarter for the Bonnies and a 5-0 run for the Titans gave Detroit Mercy a 6-5 lead early in the third quarter.
“[Detroit Mercy] is talented and we knew that they’d make a run,” coach Randy Mearns said. “We were able to respond and put four goals up in three or for minutes…. We kind of felt that we would be able to close out the game, and fortunately we were.”
The Bonnies took over as the game entered the fourth quarter and had a five-goal lead with 10 minutes remaining. From there, St. Bonaventure entered clock-kill mode and was able to limit opposing possessions to hold onto a three-goal victory.
St. Bonaventure had two-goal performances from Rosa, Sean Westley, and Nick Slattery, but that’s not what Mearns attributed to as the main cause of victory. He believes it was the performance on face-offs from freshman Austin Holley, who won 12 of his 22 attempts against one of the best face-off players in the conference.
“We actually won the face-off battle for the first time in probably program history,” Mearns said. “I think [Detroit] was kind of shell-shocked, a little surprised because it was completely opposite of the first outing [against Detroit Mercy in March].”
Next up for the Bonnies are the Monmouth Hawks with a berth in the MAAC Championship game on the line. Monmouth, the No. 2 seed, beat No. 7 seed Siena by a score of 12-11 in their quarterfinal match-up on Friday.
St. Bonaventure faced the Hawks back in March and dropped the road contest by just one, 13-12. Headed back to New Jersey for the second time, the Bonnies are playing at a familiar venue and they know what needs to improve to walk away winners this time.
“We weren’t winning any face-offs or any groundballs [last time against Monmouth],” Mearns said. “We had four or five failed clears [late in the game] which then resulted in more opportunities for them and some quick transition, 4-3 easy looks where they were able to build their own momentum.”
Wednesday’s semifinal match-up is set to start at 2pm on the Kessler Stadium field in West Long Branch, New Jersey. The game will be streamed on ESPN+.
“We feel we’re much more settled in approaching the game,” Mearns said. “It’s going to be a big test for us from a defensive standpoint, and if we can handle their offensive onslaught and gain some momentum our way, then maybe we have some success.”
