COLCHESTER, Vt. - The Saint Michael's College men's lacrosse team locked up the fifth seed in the upcoming Northeast 10 Conference Championship by virtue of a 13-9 win over No. 20 Bentley University on Saturday at Duffy Field. The Purple Knights received votes toward this week's United States Intercollegiate Lacrosse Association (USILA) national poll, while the Falcons were 20th in the USILA rankings. Both were among 10 teams recognized in the first NCAA East Region standings.
 
Saint Michael's heads to fourth-seeded Assumption University, which is ranked 18th nationally and also appears in the NCAA's regional poll, for an NE10 Championship first-round game next Saturday. The time is TBA.
 
Saint Michael's recognized Owen Balfour (Mashpee, Mass./Mashpee), Matthew Bellis (Groton, Mass./Austin Prep), Aidan Clark (Ramsey, N.J./Ramsey), Stephen Deutsch (Queensbury, N.Y./Queensbury), Sean Murphy (Medway, Mass./Medway), Mike Nelson (Worcester, Mass./Auburn), Gavin Proutt (Baltimore, Md./Boys' Latin School of Maryland), Benjamin Riggs (Plainville, Mass./King Philip Regional) and Travis Standerski (Lake Villa, Ill./Grayslake North) prior to their final college home game.
 
RECORDS

• Saint Michael's (9-4, 4-4 NE10), Bentley (6-7, 4-4 NE10)

SAINT MICHAEL'S LEADERS

• Murphy, 3 goals
• First-year Zeke Peraza (Los Angeles, Calif./Saint Francis), 2 goals, 1 assist, 3 ground balls
• Junior Taylor Wiercinski (Groton, Mass./Lawrence Academy), 2 goals, 3 ground balls, 3 caused turnovers
• Sophomore Noah Veroneau (South Portland, Maine/Thornton Academy), 1 goal, 1 assist
• First-year Chris Davis (Kings Park, N.Y./Kings Park), 1 goal, 1 assist
• Riggs, 1 goal, 2 ground balls, 2 caused turnovers
• Balfour, 1 goal
• Clark, 1 goal
• Sophomore Kevin Greabell (Kings Park, N.Y./Kings Park), 1 goal
• Nelson, 5 saves in 30 minutes, win
• Sophomore Nate Gulachenski (Southboro, Mass./Algonquin Regional), 6 saves, 2 ground balls in 30 minutes of relief
• Sophomore Noah Poirier (Dalton, Mass./Wahconah Regional), 12-for-22 faceoffs, 8 ground balls
• Sophomore Matt O'Donnell (Marshfield, Mass./Cardinal Spellman), 4 grounds balls
• Proutt, 2 caused turnovers

OPPONENT LEADERS

• First-year Beckett Mehlhorn, 2 goals, 1 assist, 4 ground balls
• Senior Brady Glass, 2 goals
• Sophomore Dante D'Amico, 1 goal, 13-for-24 faceoffs, 6 ground balls
• First-year Matt Barry, 8 saves
• Senior Kyle Piersiak, 6 ground balls, 3 caused turnovers

GAME FACTS

• Saint Michael's has defeated multiple ranked teams in the same season for the first known time in program history, having also downed No. 17 Southern New Hampshire University, 11-10, on March 21.
• The Purple Knights knocked off Bentley for the first time since April 3, 2013, last winning at home on March 27, 2012.
• Junior Paul Mannke (Stoneham, Mass./Stoneham) is now tied for fifth in school annals with 29 caused turnovers this spring, matching the figure Rocky Grillone '24 had in 2024.

THE ACTION

• The Purple Knights broke a 2-2 deadlock with three straight goals, including strikes from Wiercinski and Greabell, both long poles, and the hosts were up 5-2 at 11:22 of the second quarter.
• Bentley scored 13 seconds into the game and with three ticks to go in the opening half but were limited to only one goal in between over the first 30 minutes, ultimately trailing 5-3 at halftime.
• The Falcons were never able to equalize, drawing within a single goal three times in the third quarter before the Purple Knights responded on each occasion.
• After first-year Harrison Murray brought Bentley within 7-6 at 4:23 of the third stanza, Davis scored only 59 seconds later, sparking a 4-0 run that Riggs capped by snagging a loose ball directly off of Barry's save and scoring unmarked from out front at 12:46 of the fourth quarter.
• Murphy scored at 9:06 and 7:49 of the fourth quarter to make it a 13-7 contest before Bentley scored twice in the final 3:27.

NEXT SAINT MICHAEL'S GAME

• Saturday at Assumption, TBA time in NE10 Championship first round.