Box Score WASHINGTON, Pa. – Sophomore attacker Timothy O'Shea (Cranberry Township, Pa./Seneca Valley) totaled nine points (3 goals, 6 assists) to help the Thiel College men's lacrosse team advance to the Presidents' Athletic Conference Tournament Championship Game after knocking off Washington and Jefferson College 19-9 on Wednesday evening at Alexandre Stadium.

W&J (5-12), the tournament's No. 2 seed, scored the first goal of the game, but Thiel dominated the rest of the quarter by scoring seven goals, two of which were scored by sophomore midfielder Sean Loney (Linthicum, Md./North County).

The Presidents scored first in the second, taking advantage of an extra-man opportunity to cut Thiel's lead to three (7-4). The Tomcats answered with a pair of goals, as junior attacker Zachary Macurak (Bethel Park, Pa./Bethel Park) and sophomore midfielder Alex Casile (Pittsburgh, Pa./Fox Chapel) each tallied a score to push Thiel's lead back to five (9-4). The Presidents responded back-to-back goals before a marker by junior midfielder Carmen Papa (Salamanca, N.Y./Salamanca Central) gave the Tomcats a 10-6 advantage at the half.

W&J again threatened at the start of the third, scoring two straight goals to cut Thiel's lead to three (11-8). The Tomcats (8-7) took control of the match with a 4-0 run, as senior midfielder Francis Ahia (Pittsburgh, Pa./Penn Hills) fired home his second goal of the contest to put Thiel up 15-8 with 12:37 remaining.  

Thiel poured it on from that point, outscoring W&J 4-1 to close out the match and secure a spot in the PAC Championship match.

Junior goalie Ryan Weldon (Centereach, N.Y./Newfield) picked up the win in goal for the Tomcats, making 16 saves on 37 shots faced.

Loney finished with five goals on seven shot attempts, while Ahia added three goals and three assists. Papa, Casile and freshman midfielder Jared Saffer (Pittsburgh, Pa./North Hills) each notched two goals.

Kyle Hening, Tim Angell and Bryan Whipkey each netted a pair of goals to lead W&J, while Conor Crowe stopped four shots in the loss.

The win marks the first for Thiel in six meetings with W&J, and means that the third-seeded Tomcats must now await the winner of fourth-seeded Bethany College Bison and the top-seeded Saint Vincent College Bearcats to see whom they play in the PAC championship match. The championship will be hosted by the higher seed of the two remaining teams and will be played on Saturday at 1 p.m.