LOUDONVILLE – The Siena men’s lacrosse team gets to play another day at Hickey Field – or “Hickey Beach,” as graduate goalie Christopher Yanchoris described it.
“We love playing at Hickey Beach,” Yanchoris said. “We call it Hickey Beach because the sun is shining sometimes and it feels like a beach. We love to be here.”
It wasn’t exactly a day at the beach on Saturday for the Saints, who needed to win to get into the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference Tournament and had to sweat out a man advantage for Mount St. Mary’s in the final 12.3 seconds.
But Siena (7-6 overall, 5-4Â MAAC) held the first-place Mountaineers without a shot to earn a 13-12 victory that put the Saints into the six-team tournament field. They’ll be the No. 4 seed and face No. 5 Sacred Heart in a first-round match next Saturday in Loudonville.
“I’m really proud of everyone who stepped on the field today and our sideline gave us a lot of energy,” Siena head coach Liam Gleason said. “It was a great team win.”
Siena graduate attack Zac Schuette, a Ballston Spa native, scored a season-high four goals. He had a hat trick in the third quarter alone, when the Saints scored five unanswered goals to grab the lead for good at 9-6.
Schuette transferred home from Division III Springfield this season to play for Gleason.
“It means everything,” Schuette said. “Coach Gleason, I knew him in high school, and as soon as I hit the (NCAA transfer) portal he reached out, and it felt like an amazing fit to be back in the 518. These guys accepted me every single day since the minute I got here, and I couldn’t thank them enough. It’s been amazing.”
Graduate midfielder Rocco Santillo scored on an assist from Christian Watts (three goals) to put Siena up 13-10 with 2:51 remaining. But the game wasn’t over.
Mount St. Mary’s Jeremy Wilson scored unassisted…
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