The Pace University men’s lacrosse regular season came to a close last Saturday.

A win over The College of Saint Rose improved their record to 11 wins and 3 losses. For the 2021-22 season, Mens’ Lacrosse spent the entirety of the season nationally ranked and spent a few weeks in the Top 10.

The Setters began the season ranked #12 in national polls. Their first game versus Caldwell University ended in a decisive 22-4 victory. Alternating between home games at Pace Stadium and road games, The Setters would compile a perfect 6-0 record, ranking 9th in Division II Mens’ Lacrosse. Other teams defeated were Dominican College, Wilmington University, Georgian Court University, and NorthEast 10 Division rivals St, Michael’s College, and American International College.

On March 29th, Men’s Lacrosse would visit Syracuse, N.Y. for a match against the No. 2 ranked LeMoyne College Dolphins. Pace would be overmatched by the Dolphins on the road. They would lose for the first time in the season, 14-6. The Setters would have a ranked matchup the following week on April 6th versus a NE-10 foe, No. 4 ranked Adelphi Panthers. This game would be closer, but Pace would again lose a top 10 ranked battle, 11-8. Men’s Lacrosse would drop two spots in ranking to 11th.

The Setters would pick up a 3 game win streak. Two wins would come at Franklin Pierce University on April 9 and at home vs. Assumption College April 12. 

The Setters would get another ranked matchup when they faced No. 16 Bentley University on April 16th in Waltham, MA. A close game for the second half, the Bentley University Falcons would pull away late in the fourth quarter. However, Pace battled back to force overtime. They would score 3 times in the final 60 seconds to tie the game at 15. An overtime goal by Graduate Attacker Kyle Casey with 2:50 left would compete the Setters comeback giving Pace their first ranked victory of the year and their 3rd straight win.

The Men’s Lacrosse would have another ranked matchup with the newly minted 16th ranked team, Saint Anslem College. Pace would hold a halftime lead, but would quickly lose it in the second half. Saint Anselm would outscore Pace in the third and fourth quarters to pull ahead and secure the upset victory with a final score of 14-10. It was the third ranked loss for the Setters. They would fall out of the top 10 ranking again from 9th to 11th. Their next game was the Saint Rose game at home which ended the regular season on a high note.

The Men’s Lacrosse team ended the regular season with 11 wins and 3 losses. They went 6-1 at home and 5-2 on the road. For NE 10 Conference play, the Setters ended up 7-3, with all losses to ranked teams.

Next for the team is The NE-10 Men’s Lacrosse Championship. Ranked 4th, the Setters will host the 5th seeded Bentley University at Pace Stadium This Saturday,  April 27th at 4pm.

As a team, Men’s Lacrosse scored 211 goals for the season on 664 shots and surrendered 115 goals from 557 shots. The team spent 41 minutes and 30 seconds serving 69 penalties. Pace’s defense forced 294 turnovers while commiting 249 of their own. 

The Setters had two players with 60 point seasons and 6 players with double digit points. 30 goal scorers and 6 reaching double digit goals. There were three players with 24 assists each and 4 having double digit assists. 

Leading the Setters was Senior attacker Jake Veres led the Setters in goals with 39 and points at 63. He also had 24 assists. Graduate Attacker Kyle Casey had 36 goals for the year and 24 assists for 60 points. Another senior attacker, Tim Cairo had 35 goals and 34 assists totaling 59 points. Anthony Caputo, a junior midfielder had 43 points on the season comprised of 24 goals and 19 assists. 

With NE-10s approaching, the Setters will hope to have a good outing in the conference tournament and hope for optimal seeding in the NCAA Tournament.