COLCHESTER, Vt. - Graduate student Alex Chirgwin's (Queensbury, N.Y./Queensbury) tie-breaking goal with 1:11 left lifted the Saint Michael's College men's lacrosse team past Southern New Hampshire University, 12-11, on Friday at Duffy Field in both teams' Northeast-10 Conference opener. The Purple Knights were fourth in this week's New England Intercollegiate Lacrosse Association (NEILA) poll, while the Penmen stood third.
 
RECORDS

• Saint Michael's (4-1, 1-0 NE10), Southern New Hampshire (1-4, 0-1 NE10)

SAINT MICHAEL'S LEADERS

• Junior Sebastian Simonson (Spruce Grove, Alberta/Spruce Grove Composite), 4 goals, 2 assists
• Junior Cristian Reyes (Norwood, Mass./Xaverian Brothers), 2 goals, 1 assist
• Graduate student Alex Chirgwin (Queensbury, N.Y./Queensbury), 2 goals, 3 ground balls
• Senior Dylan Morgan (Ashland, Mass./Ashland), 1 goal, 2 assists
• Senior Robbie Sinibaldi (New Port Richey, Fla./J.W. Mitchell), 1 goal, 1 assist
• Junior Ethan Hughes (Trumbull, Conn./Trumbull), 1 goal, 1 assist
• Sophomore Sean Murphy (Medway, Mass./Medway), 1 goal, 1 assist
• Junior Sean Regan (Pittsford, N.Y./Pittsford Sutherland), 12 saves
• Senior Rocky Grillone (Brockton, Mass./Cardinal Spellman), 5 ground balls, 4 caused turnovers
• Senior Cam Steuer (Saratoga Springs, N.Y./Saratoga Springs), 3 ground balls
• Senior Lochlan Sheridan (Marblehead, Mass./Marblehead), 2 caused turnovers
• Junior Cooper Wilson (Niskayuna, N.Y./Niskayuna), 6 faceoff wins, 5 ground balls
• Junior Nate Carr (Falmouth, Mass./Falmouth), 3-for-5 faceoffs

OPPONENT LEADERS

• Graduate student Ryan Auger, 3 goals
• First-year Ryan Lynch, 3 goals
• Sophomore John Serina, 2 goals
• Graduate student Eric Bua Jr., 1 goal, 6 ground balls
• Senior Ronan DePaul, 18 saves, 4 ground balls
• Graduate student Gennaro Marra, 18-for-26 faceoffs, 12 ground balls

GAME FACTS

• Saint Michael's is 4-1 for the second straight year after not reaching that mark prior to 2023 since 2012.
• Southern New Hampshire's 1-4 mark includes three one-goal defeats.
• Grillone moved into fifth in program history in career caused turnovers (60), passing former teammate Brian Sardella '23 (57).

THE ACTION

• Murphy (3:41) and Hughes (1:12) scored back-to-back goals late in the opening quarter to give Saint Michael's a 4-2 lead, the largest at that point for either team.
• Reyes (4:49) and Sinibaldi (4:05) struck 44 seconds apart in the second frame to provide the hosts a 6-3 advantage.
• The Penmen netted five of the next six goals, forging ahead 8-7 thanks to three goals in a 2:45 span. Auger netted the final two, including the go-ahead marker at 3:00 of the third quarter.
• That was the first of four one-goal leads by the visitors, but Saint Michael's erased each.
• Serina found the net with 6:54 left in regulation to give his team an 11-10 edge, but Reyes found the equalizer 54 seconds later.
• Chirgwin scored unassisted with 1:11 to go, and Wilson won the ensuing draw and scooped up the ground ball, and the Purple Knights possessed until the final horn.

NEXT SAINT MICHAEL'S GAME

• Next Saturday at No. 5 Adelphi University, 1 p.m.
• The Panthers' national ranking is according to the United States Intercollegiate Lacrosse Association (USILA).