Eric Keppeler '85
Sports Writer
Junior Mason Snyder scored his third goal of the game with 9.1 seconds remaining to lift the St. Joe’s lacrosse team to a 13-12 win over Canisius on Tuesday in the Monsignor Martin Athletic Association Championship at Canisius University.
The Marauders trailed for much of the contest but put together a five-goal fourth quarter to nail down their 10th consecutive league championship.
“It’s truly special to be part of this program and its history,” said Snyder, who also scored the overtime winner in last year’s championship game against St. Francis. “I love this team – we fought all the way and didn’t give up, even when it looked like it was over.”
The Marauders now advance to the Catholic state finals and will host that contest against Iona Prep at 11 a.m. Saturday as St. Joe’s (11-7, 9-1) will take another crack at its first state championship.
“I really hadn’t thought about any of the streaks until this one,” said veteran St. Joe’s coach Peter Hudecki. “I don’t know if it’s because this was double digits but I felt this one a little bit differently. It was a little nerve-racking.”
It was a bitter pill for Canisius, which had entered the finals on an 11-game winning streak, including a 15-12 semifinal win over St. Francis. The Crusaders’ season ended at 14-5.
“I thought we played a good game,” said Canisius coach Pete Mete. “We did a lot of the things we wanted to do, but you’ve got to give it up for them. They’re a good team and they fought hard and that’s why they’ve won so many championships.”
Canisius looked to have written a finish to the Marauders’ title streak when Braxton Kilgour scored with 33.2 seconds left to break an 11-11 tie.
But St. Joe’s was awarded the ensuing faceoff because Canisius had too many men on the field and junior Andrew Polisoto ran straight up the gut before dishing the ball off to senior Haydn Wells, who beat Crusader goalie Nick Dutrieux with a low shot to tie the game just eight seconds later.
Crucially, Niko Mackiewicz won the resulting faceoff, and the Marauders made the most of that possession on a quick tic-tac-toe play from Polisoto to Elijah Freeman to Snyder, to the back of the net with nine ticks left.
Madden Havill won the final draw to seal the win for St. Joe’s.
“They played a really good game and our guys played a really good game,” Hudecki said. “I thought we left a lot of shots on the field. We had a lot of good offensive opportunities early and we didn’t take advantage of some of those. But the guys fought and they grinded and we told them that’s what the championship game would be like. I thought we were pretty evenly matched – we just had to grind it out.”
Wells also finished with three goals for St. Joe’s, as did Polisoto. Freeman, Griffin Vranjes, Liam Woeppel and Zuriah Cortes also scored for the Marauders. Jackson Grande made nine saves in goal for the win.
“This one’s even more special,” said Wells. “It’s hard to win one championship, let alone 10. We’re just trying to win and add to the legacy of this program. Completing the 10-peat is really special.”
Wyatt Van Tine topped the Crusaders with three goals, while Chris Sweeney, John Dunn and T.J. Yoder added two goals apiece. Julius Schopp, Nick Mete and Kilgour each had one for Canisius, which led 5-4 at the half and 10-8 after three quarters.
Dutrieux was solid in the Canisius net, holding off an early Marauder onslaught; he finished with 15 saves.
“I’m really proud of these guys and the way they kept their composure throughout the whole game,” Hudecki said. “They just kept fighting when they could have chucked it in.”