Men's Lacrosse | 4/26/2026 2:35:00 AM

TRAFFORD, Pa. (pacathletics.org) - The 2026 Presidents' Athletic Conference (PAC) Men's Lacrosse Tournament began Saturday with Saint Vincent College and Westminster College both posting 12-goal wins on their respective home fields.

With a 16-4 victory over sixth-seeded Allegheny College (6-10) Saturday afternoon, No. 3 Saint Vincent (10-6) moves on to next Wednesday's semifinal at No. 2 Chatham University in Pittsburgh. Saturday night saw fourth-seeded Westminster College (12-6) pull away in the second half for a 22-10 win over No. 5 Franciscan University (8-9), who was making their first appearance in the PAC Tournament in program history. The Titans advance to take on top-seeded Grove City College Wednesday. Both semifinals are slated for 7 pm start times.

The semifinal winners will meet for the PAC Championship on Saturday, May 2, hosted by the highest remaining seed. Game time will be announced following the semifinal round. The PAC Sports Network will have the free-to-view broadcast of the title tilt.

The winner of the PAC Championship Tournament will earn the league's automatic-qualifying bid to the Division III Championship. The field for this year's Division III Championship will be announced Sunday, May 3rd, with first round games scheduled for Wednesday, May 6th, while second and third round games will be played May 9-10.

PAC Quarterfinal 1 - Latrobe, Pa.
No. 3 Saint Vincent 16, No. 6 Allegheny 4
- Saint Vincent jumped out to a commanding early lead, scoring four times in the first quarter and never trailing en route to a 16-4 victory.
- The Bearcats continued to build separation in the middle quarters, outscoring Allegheny 8-4 across the second and third to take full control of the contest.
- A balanced offensive attack powered Saint Vincent, led by sophomore Connor Smith (Endicott, N.Y./Union Endicott) with four goals and an assist, while sophomore Neal Ritchie (Westerville, Ohio/Saint Francis DeSales) and sophomore Luca Blevins (Powhatan, Va./Powhatan) each added three goals.
- Junior Ryan Rosenberger (Purcellville, Va./Woodgrove) added two goals, while additional scoring came from sophomore Reed Hunt (York, Pa./York Suburban), sophomore Calvin Rose (Savannah, Ga./Benedictine Military School), senior Jonathan Nagy (York, Pa./Central York), and senior Max Radcliffe (Bethel Park, Pa./Bethel Park).
- Defensively, Saint Vincent was led by junior Cam Herring (Hanover, Pa./New Oxford) with four ground balls and three caused turnovers, part of a 15-caused-turnover team effort.
- Senior goalie Garrett Ritts (Shaker Heights, Ohio/Shaker Heights) anchored the defense with seven saves while allowing just four goals in the complete-game effort.
- Allegheny’s offense was led by senior Liam Kruck (Murrysville, Pa./Franklin), freshman Nathan Wheeler (Pasadena, Md./Chesapeake), freshman Gabe Shoemaker (Brunswick, Maine/Brunswick), and senior Griffin Cates (Arlington Heights, Ill./John Hersey), while senior JP Rakis (Kensington, Md./Walter Johnson) recorded two assists.
- Saint Vincent controlled play statistically, holding advantages in shots (55-24) and shots on goal (33-11) while forcing 32 Allegheny turnovers.

PAC Quarterfinal 2 - New Wilmington, Pa.
Westminster (Pa.) 22, Franciscan 10
- Westminster used a dominant offensive performance to defeat Franciscan, 22-10, at UPMC Sports Complex.
- The Titans led 9-7 at halftime but steadily added to their lead in the second half, including outscoring the Barons 7-0 in the fourth quarter to put the game away.
- Westminster sophomore Paul DiPasquale (Woodbine, Md./Glenelg) and freshman Brendan Robinson (Gainesville, Va./Gainesville) led the way with five goals each, while senior Kyler Nigliazzo (Montgomery, Texas/Magnolia West) added three goals in the win.
- Westminster was active defensively, led by sophomore Tanner Crosby (Park City, Utah/Park City) with two caused turnovers and five ground balls and senior Shawn Wooles (Hampton, N.H./Winnacunnet), who caused a pair of turnovers as well and scooped three ground balls.
- Nigliazzo also contributed three assists, while sophomore Ethan Kurtz (Hummelstown, Pa./Lower Dauphin) and senior Jahiem Hawkins (Huntington Station, N.Y./Huntington) each recorded two helpers to pace the offense.
- In net for the Titans was senior Jorden Tate (Cranberry Township, Pa./Seneca Valley, who stopped 11 shots in the win.
- Westminster controlled the game statistically, outshooting Franciscan 55-24 and holding advantages in ground balls (47-28) and clears.
- Franciscan was led by junior Joseph James (Herndon, Va./The Heights School) with six goals, while freshman Pio Kirk (Rockville, Md./The Heights School) dished out six assists.

PAC Semifinal Notes
- Grove City won the regular season meeting with Westminster by a 20-5 score in New Wilmington on March 25th.
- This is the third year in a row the teams have played in the PAC semifinals, with Grove City winning in 2025 (26-7) and 2024 (17-6).
- While Grove City has reached the conference title game all six years it's been held, Westminster is trying to return to the final for first time since 2021.
- Chatham knocked off Saint Vincent 15-7 in their first match-up earlier this year on April 8th in Latrobe.
- Similiar to the other semifinal, Chatham and Saint Vincent also met in the 2025 semifinals, a game won by the Cougars 10-7 to put Chatham in the PAC title game for the first time in program history.
- Saint Vincent is looking to reach it's first championship game since 2023.