ALBANY, N.Y.- The College of Saint Rose men's lacrosse team gave #14 Pace University all it could handle this afternoon, however the Golden Knights ultimately fell to the nationally-ranked Setters 10-9.
 
The Golden Knights fell behind early as Pace scored the first five goals of the game in the opening period. It was a left-handed strike from freshman middie Jack Rice that got the Saint Rose on the board with 50 seconds left in the first.
 
A Pace goal by attackman Jack Veres would open up the scoring the second period to put the Setters up 6-1, but Saint Rose would come roaring back with a five-goal run of their own.
 
With just under five minutes remaining in the second, Golden Knights senior FOS Eoghan Sweeny won a draw, stormed into the Saint Rose attacking end, and dished to freshman attack Noah Gibson, who notched his first of two goals on the day.
 
Rice would register his second goal of the day and senior attack Cam Smith would notch a buzzer beater to give the Golden Knights momentum going into halftime. The strike was Smith's 45th goal on the campaign to break the Saint Rose single-season goal scoring record, which previously established by Conner Badour in 2018.
 
Saint Rose sophomore attack Jackson Spikerite opened the second-half scoring for the Golden Knights and Smith would add his second goal of the day, on an assist from West Cateaux, to cap the Golden Knights five-goal comeback and tie things up at 6-6.
 
The Saint Rose defense held Pace scoreless for over 12 minutes during their rally. Senior defender Edward Wurszt lead the Golden Knights defense with three caused turnovers on the day.
 
Pace would respond with a three-goal run of their own to close the third period and extend their lead to 9-6.
 
Gibson scored for Saint Rose to start the final period, but Setter midfield Anthony Caputo would quickly answer to extend the Pace lead back to three. The Golden Knights would not go away quietly though.
 
Saint Rose responded with two goals of their own, both netted by Smith, with the first score assisted by Baker, and the second coming on a pass from Spikerite. Smith finished with a team-high four goals.
 
Pace would hang on for the 10-9 victory after neither team was able to find the back of the net over the course of the final 10 minutes.
Veres topped the Penman attack with four goals and an assist. Pace outshot the Golden Knights 53-25, with junior goalie Ryan Gainor turned away 14 shots in goal for Saint Rose.

Saint Rose closes out the 2023 regular season with a trip to Franklin Pierce on Tuesday at 4:00 PM to take on the Ravens. Pace closes out their campaign with an 11-3 record, going 7-3 in the NE10. The Setters currently sit in fourth place in the NE10.

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