TICKET PUNCHED! Men’s Lacrosse Defeats Richmond 17-13 to Earn Atlantic 10 Championship

The Hawks are going back to the big dance. A fourth quarter flurry provided the difference, as Saint Joseph's took down #18 Richmond in the Atlantic 10 Championship on Saturday afternoon to earn a spot in the NCAA Tournament.
 
St. Joe's earned its second conference championship, winning its 12^th consecutive game to move to 12-3 (5-0 Atlantic 10) on the year. Richmond ends its season at 10-6 (4-1 Atlantic 10), all six losses coming against ranked opponents.
 
ALL-TOURNAMENT TEAM
Matt Knote, UMass
Collin Hoben, High Point
Brayden Mayea, High Point
Hunter Smith, Richmond
Lukas Olsson, Richmond
Dalton Young, Richmond
Lance Madonna, Richmond
Matt Bohmer, Saint Joseph's
Alex Keener, Saint Joseph's
Carter Page, Saint Joseph's
Levi Verch, Saint Joseph's
Levi Anderson, Saint Joseph's*

*Most Outstanding Player
 
HOW IT HAPPENED

• Levi Anderson grabbed the opener for the Hawks, fending off opponents and going low after a dish from Matt Bohmer found him open near the alley.
• After back-to-back goals from the Spiders, the Hawk defense was able to force a turnover as Ryan Bradley picked up a contested ground ball before driving the length of the field. The long stick midfielder dumped off a pass to Carter Page, who went low-to-high to strike the netting to level the game.
• Richmond closed the quarter with three goals to take a 5-2 lead after 15 minutes.
• Just two minutes into the second quarter, Anderson found the back of the net again as the Canadian spun past his defender and immediately fired through traffic, going through the goalkeeper's legs to start a Hawk run.
• Page grabbed his second of the day, the first to a rebound off of a Bohmer shot as the senior poked it past the keeper and rolled it into the net.
• Just 40 seconds later, Mark Watters equaled the game up after a give-and-go with Griffin Mallory before slotting his shot into the netting.
• Toron Eccleston took his turn to get on the score sheet, using his opposite hand to drive down the alley and fire from his weak hand past the keeper.
• Page secured his hat trick with under seven minutes to play in the half, capping off a 5-0 run to push the Hawks' lead to 7-5.
• Richmond tallied one back late in the second to cut the deficit to one at the break.
• The Hawks opened the second half as they did the first, Anderson finding the back of the net through a Bohmer assist right on the edge of the crease, making no mistake from close range to take advantage of an extra man opportunity.
• Over the next five minutes, Richmond went on a 5-1 run to overtake the Hawks and earn a two-goal advantage.
• Watters tallied his fourth game with multiple goals to rally the Hawks and cut the deficit and half.
• Anderson equalized for St. Joe's, scoring his fourth goal of the day in a near identical shot to earlier in the quarter. Bohmer dished to the Canadian from the X again, Anderson pump faking high before going low to tie the game at 11-11 heading into the fourth quarter.
• A save and two forced turnovers to start the fourth saw the Hawks translate the success to the attacking side of the field, building momentum as Anderson made his way towards the alley unimpeded before firing an unsavable effort into the low corner.
• Despite initially losing the next face-off, Gavin Tygh kept the pressure up to force a Richmond turnover and steal possession back for St. Joe's. With the attention drawn to Anderson, the attackman found his Canadian counterpart as Page received the pass, turned and fired high from a low angle for his fifth tally of the day.
• Richmond tallied a quick goal back and looked at a chance to equalize. The Hawk defense shut the door, three Hawks enveloping a Spider midfielder as Verch forced the turnover and grabbed the ground ball. On the other end, Jesse Jason found Page with a pass across the cage, Page earning his double hat trick with no defender in sight to close him down.
• The goal sparked a 3-0 run in the next minute and 20 seconds, Matt Bohmer earning his lone goal of the day after a quick release from an Eccleston pass. A battle at the face-off saw Anderson grab control in a crowd, on the goal side of a scrum as he raced past the group and all but sealed the victory to put the Hawks up 16-12 with under four minutes to play.
• Anderson wasn't done yet, capping off a prolific day in front of goal as the Spiders tried to ride to gain possession back. Patrick Clemens saw Anderson free on the opposite end of the field, launching the ball to his teammate as the Calgary native caught and fired from close range into an empty net before wheeling off in celebration.
• Despite a consolation goal conceded with under a minute to play, Richmond was unable to get any closer as Tommy Gross capped off an impressive display to record his 14^th save of the afternoon from close range to deny the Spiders, a quick outlet allowing the Hawks to run out the rest of the clock to seal the 17-13 win.

 
 
GAME NOTES

• Saint Joseph's returns to the NCAA Tournament for the second time in the last three seasons, winning its first Atlantic 10 Championship.
• St. Joe's won the NEC Championship in 2022 before moving to the Atlantic 10, the only other time the Hawks have earned a trip to the NCAA Tournament.
• The Hawks have tallied 12 consecutive wins, the longest active win streak in the country. The 12 wins also marks the longest win streak in program history, surpassing the 2018 squad that held the previous record of 11 wins in a row.
• St. Joe's defeated its third ranked team on the season, the most wins against ranked teams in a single season in program history.
• Entering the season, the Hawks recorded just three wins total against ranked opponents in program history, doubling the amount with a win over #12 Penn and two wins against Richmond (#14, #18).
• Levi Anderson produced one of the best games of his career, finishing with seven goals and two assists on the afternoon. Anderson's seven goals was one shy of tying the single-game school record, a record he set after eight goals against St. John's last season.
• Anderson scored 11 goals and added three assists in the Atlantic 10 Tournament, earning Most Outstanding Player honors. The graduate student entered the tournament with 21 goals. Anderson moves to fourth all-time in assists (81) in program history, overtaking Matt Bohmer for the all-time scoring crown at St. Joe's with 220 career points.
• Carter Page tied his career-high with six goals on the day, collecting the tally with just eight shots. Page's 40 goals on the season ranks seventh-most in single season history.
• Matt Bohmer finished with a goal and four assists, entering into the top 10 in program history with 66 career assists.
• Mark Watters has recorded nine goals on the year, eight of the nine coming in four games as the redshirt freshman recorded his fourth game with a pair of goals on the season. All four games with multiple goals have come against a ranked team.
• Toron Eccleston added a goal and two assists, the former Division II national champion helping the Hawks to a conference title in his first year with the Crimson and Gray.
• Levi Verch proved why he was named the Atlantic 10 Defensive Player of the Year, finishing the game with three caused turnovers and seven ground balls.
• Patrick Bronander also caused a pair of turnovers, while being joined by Alex Keener (1CT) and Patrick Clemens (1CT) with three ground balls.

This news article originally appeared on sjuhawks.com.