WEST HARTFORD, Conn. – Maine Maritime Academy men's lacrosse opened up their 2020 season with a 9-4 victory over the University of Saint Joseph (Conn.) on Saturday morning, in non-conference action at USJ Lacrosse Field.

How it Happened: Sawyer Watson (Topsham, Maine) opened up the scoring for the Mariners at 10:43 in the first quarter. Just a few minutes later, freshman Caden White (Woodstock, Vt.) tallied a man-up goal to make it 2-0 with 8:10 to go and freshman Evan Golembeske (New Milford, Conn.) added to the Mariners' lead with just under two minutes to go in the first quarter.

The Blue Jays cut the Mariners' lead to 3-1 early in the second quarter, but the Mariners went on a three-goal run, led by back-to-back goals by Jayden Wilson (Lewiston, Maine) from Zeke Tocci (Naples, Maine), to make it 6-1 with 6:53 to play in the half. Saint Joseph added a goal at 3:42 to enter halftime down by four (6-2).

White picked up his second goal of the game in the third to give the Mariners a 7-2 edge and Jacob Belanger (Brunswick, Maine) added his first career goal, an unassisted strike, at 7:40. Watson added another goal early in the fourth, and despite two late-game goals from the Blue Jays, the Mariners claimed the 9-4 victory.

Inside the Numbers: Wilson led the Mariners with two goals and two assists, while Watson tallied two goals and an assist and both Golembeske and White chipped in with two goals. Tocci finished the afternoon with a pair of assists.

William Davee (Hope, Maine) led the Mariners with seven ground balls while Tanner Brown (Conway, N.H.) led the team with three caused turnovers.

Jed Astbury (Bridgewater, Vt.) went 7-of-8 from the face off, while teammate Alex Snowman (Sarasota, Fla.) went 5-for-7.

Evan Baden, Anthony Lupo, Noah Mocksfield and Eliel Duquene tallied the goals for the Blue Jays, while Nick Grant dished out a team-best two assists. Michael Challahan scooped up a team-high five ground balls, and Joe Boland tallied three caused turnovers to lead Saint Joseph.

Freshman Garrett Ruszkowski (Saugus, Mass.) stopped 11 shots in his collegiate debut in net for the Mariners, to earn the victory, while teammate Matthew Emery (St. Johnsbury, Vt.) collected five saves in almost nine minutes of action. Trey McCann tallied 11 saves in the complete game for the Blue Jays.

The Mariners dominated from the face off, going 12-of-16 overall and won the battle of the ground balls 43-28.

Up Next: The Mariners improve to 1-0 on the season, while the Blue Jays fall to 0-1. Maine Maritime returns to action next Saturday, February 29 when they host Regis College for a 1:30 pm matchup on Ritchie Field.