May 5, 2007

Emmitsburg, MD - For the third time in program history, the Saint Joseph's men's lacrosse team is set to play in the Championship game of the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference tournament. The Hawks will face off against #4 seed Providence on May 6th at 1:00 pm. The winner will not only be crowned Conference Champion, but will also earn an automatic bid into the NCAA Tournament.

Saint Joseph's won the tournament in 2000 under former Head Coach Paul Perdue and finished second in their appearance in 2003. In 2000, the Hawks defeated Marist in the semifinals, 12-11 and then downed Manhattan, 17-7, for the crown. In 2003, SJU defeated Providence in the first round, with a 12-11 overtime victory but fell to Mount St. Mary's, 8-2, in the Championship game.

In their semifinal match up with Canisius on Friday, Steve O'Brien led the Hawks with four goals, including the game-winner with just 29 seconds remaining. O'Brien is currently second on the team in goals with 18, just behind Steve Varga, who currently has 22.

"Yesterday was an exciting game and closely fought on both sides," Head Coach Pat Cullinan said Saturday afternoon. Cullinan attributes the Hawks' faceoff man, Ryan Tessler as a big factor in the win. "Ryan Tessler did a great job of neutralizing (Tim) Rowley and maintaining possession for us." Canisius' Tim Rowley was one of the top faceoff men in the country going into the semifinal match up and had proven to be a deciding factor in the regular season loss to Canisius in April.

"We had the ability to move the ball offensively yesterday which was key for us," Cullinan said. "Out of 10 goals, we had seven assisted, which shows we were really moving the ball around. The ball moves faster than the defense does, so we tried to beat them in the recovery faze of defense."

The Hawks will meet the Providence Friars for the conference crown. Providence was seeded fourth going into the tournament, but had a record of 5-3 in conference play like SJU and Canisius. Providence has qualified for the MAAC postseason more than any other team in the conference, advancing in all five of the last five years.

"Providence represents a huge challenge for us," Cullinan said. "They've been to the playoffs on a consistent basis. They have more playoff experience, which is new for the kids on our team. It's instilled a sense of kind of being the underdogs tomorrow because we don't have that experience to fall back on. But the kids are hungry not to let that lack of experience affect their play. They're very confident."

Earlier this season, SJU defeated Providence on the road, 7-6. In that contest, the Hawks had earned a 3-2 lead by the end of the second quarter, but had to battle to hold onto it. SJU never lost the in the third or fourth periods, but the Friars made a strong comeback attempt in the final quarter, making it a one-goal game before time expired.

"We have experienced success against them in late march and the kids are going to ride on that," Cullinan said. "It should help create the competitive environment that we'll need to be successful tomorrow."

In the March 31st match-up, six different Hawks contributed to the tally, including two goals from Alex McColough and a goal and an assist each from Alex Lopes and Peter Slowik. Bennett Murphy led the Friar's offense, notching four goals and one assist on the day.

"We're really excited about the opportunity to play providence tomorrow and to represent the University in the MAAC Championships," Cullinan said. "We had a very good practice this morning. The kids are all up beat and are feeling good about their ability to compete tomorrow."