July 5, 2007

PHILADELPHIA - The Saint Joseph's men's lacrosse team persevered through injuries and some hard losses to make it to the MAAC Championship game for the third time in program history. Much like last season, the Hawks opened the season with six straight losses before notching one in the win column near the end of March.

Saint Joseph's hard work early in the season against top teams such as Delaware, Navy and Duke helped to prepare it for conference play. Head coach Pat Cullinan managed to turn the losses into wins just in time for the Hawks' first MAAC matchup, defeating Marist at home, 6-5, in an overtime thriller. Junior Steve Varga scored two for the Hawks, including the game-winner, while sophomore Alex Lopes and senior Mike O'Neill each scored a goal and an assist to help pace the Crimson and Gray.

Three days later, in their second conference game of the season, the Hawks pulled out another overtime win, this time beating Manhattan, 9-8, on Finnesey Field. Graduate student Alex McColough led SJU's scoring with three goals and Varga tallied two, netting the game-winner for the second straight game. SJU went on to win two more games to create a four-game winning streak after defeating Providence, 7-6, on the road and then VMI, 17-10, at home.

Getting back on the road for a four-game stretch, it seemed the Hawks had turned the season around, but their 12-2 loss at Lehigh marked the beginning of a four-game losing skid, including losses to Canisius, Mount St. Mary's and Siena.

The Hawks managed to pull out another win in their last home game of the season. It was a much-needed conference victory, downing Wagner, 11-3. Seven different Hawks scored in the win, with Chris O'Neill leading the pack with three goals and one assist. The win was enough to keep SJU's postseason hopes alive. The Hawks closed the regular season with a 12-9 loss at Penn State and two of their top players injured (Hotaling and McColough).

Finishing the regular season 5-3 in conference play, the Hawks tied for second place in the MAAC with Providence and Canisius. SJU garnered the third seed going into the conference championship and prepared to faceoff against second-seeded Canisius. The Hawks took down the Golden Griffins, 10-9, in the semifinals, with junior Steve O'Brien notching four goals, and Varga, O'Neill and McColough each adding two. Varga also tallied three assists, making it a five-point day for him.

Despite Varga putting the Hawks on the board first, SJU fell to fourth-seeded Providence, 9-4, in the MAAC title game. Hotaling played all 60 minutes in goal and made nine saves but a scoring drought in the second and third quarters put the Hawks too far behind to fully battle back.

Senior Zach Charles and graduate student Russ Thorn will be missed on the defensive end next year, and McColough and O'Neill's offensive leadership will definitely be a loss for the Crimson and Gray. O'Neill led the Hawks this season in points (32) and assists (18) while McColough was among the top scorers with 16 goals and 22 points. SJU will return a strong core of veterans though, and expect to have strong upperclassmen leadership on and off the field in the 2008 season. This year's leading scorer, Varga (24g, 5a) returns to Hawk Hill next year for his senior season and key returning sophomores Hotaling, Lopes and Chris O'Neill continue to improve and grow ever more important to the program.