COLCHESTER, Vt. - The 19th-ranked Saint Michael's College men's lacrosse team took No. 6 Pace University down to the wire during a 6-5 loss on Saturday in a meeting between nationally-ranked Northeast 10 Conference squads at Duffy Field. Both teams' rankings were according to this week's United States Intercollegiate Lacrosse Association (USILA) national poll.
 
RECORDS

• Saint Michael's (6-2, 1-2 NE10), Pace (8-1, 3-0 NE10)

SAINT MICHAEL'S LEADERS

• Sophomore Nate Gulachenski (Southboro, Mass./Algonquin Regional), 19 saves (career high), 2 ground balls
• Sophomore Noah Poirier (Dalton, Mass./Wahconah Regional), 11-for-13 faceoffs, 3 ground balls
• First-year Zeke Peraza (Los Angeles, Calif./Saint Francis), 1 goal, 4 ground balls, 2 caused turnovers
• Sophomore Matt O'Donnell (Marshfield, Mass./Cardinal Spellman), 5 ground balls
• Junior Taylor Wiercinski (Groton, Mass./Lawrence Academy), 4 ground balls, 2 caused turnovers
• Junior Travis Keel (Temecula, Calif./Great Oak), 3 ground balls, 3 caused turnovers
• Junior Paul Mannke (Stoneham, Mass./Stoneham), 3 ground balls, 2 caused turnovers
• Senior Benjamin Riggs (Plainville, Mass./King Philip Regional), 2 ground balls, 2 caused turnovers
• Senior Owen Balfour (Mashpee, Mass./Mashpee), 1 goal
• Junior Thomas Cahill (Georgetown, Mass./Georgetown), 1 goal
• Sophomore Noah Veroneau (South Portland, Maine/Thornton Academy), 1 goal
• First-year Chris Davis (Kings Park, N.Y./Kings Park), 1 goal

OPPONENT LEADERS

• Sophomore Matt Baldino, 2 goals, 1 assist
• Senior Will Danowski, 1 goal, 1 assist, 3 caused turnovers
• Senior Jack Kern, 9 saves, 2 ground balls
• Senior Chris Butler, 8 ground balls, 6 caused turnovers

GAME FACTS

• The Purple Knights played their second consecutive one-goal contest against a ranked team, having downed No. 17 Southern New Hampshire University, 11-10, last Saturday.
• Saint Michael's put together its best defensive showing against a ranked foe since a 5-3 win at No. 12 Bentley University on April 27, 2011. The Purple Knights allowed their fewest goals against a top-10 team since an 8-6 upset of No. 6 Merrimack College earlier that same season, on March 30, 2011.
• Pace was held to its lowest goal total (6) and first-half goal figure (2) since being shut out in the opening 30 minutes of a 10-3 loss to Adelphi University in the 2025 NE10 Championship title game.

THE ACTION

• Despite being the lowest-scoring quarter of the game, the teams took the most combined shots in that frame, with Pace holding an 11-10 edge. However, Gulachenski made seven of his saves in the opening stanza alone, and Veroneau's strike at 11:50 accounted for the only scoring.
• First-year Zach Goetze tied the game with 6:12 to go in the second period, and Pace came out of a late timeout to take the lead when Danowski fed Baldino with one second on the clock.
• The Purple Knights scored three of the next four goals to lead 4-3 by 12:18 of the fourth quarter, with Balfour, Peraza and Cahill all tallying during the run.
• Danowski scored 49 seconds later before Baldino put Pace up for good at 9:25. Senior Declan Landers added an insurance strike with 7:51 remaining.
• Davis' solo effort at 3:25 brought the Purple Knights within a goal, and the hosts possessed three times down the stretch but had only one sustained opportunity, which Kern erased with a save at 1:26.
• Pace salted away the better part of the final 90 seconds before Saint Michael's fired a long desperation shot at the buzzer.

NEXT SAINT MICHAEL'S GAME

• Wednesday at No. 2 Saint Anselm College, 4 p.m.
• The Hawks' national ranking was according to the USILA.