YORK, Pa. – Despite a quarterfinal win on Monday, the Widener men's lacrosse fought in the MAC Commonwealth Semifinals to the #10 York Spartans.
 
With the 23-9 loss, the Pride conclude their 2023 season 9-9 and end conference play 5-3.
 
BY THE NUMBERS

• Connor Heisman scores four of the nine Pride goals.
• Brian Young causes three turnovers while Jacob Shannon grabs five ground ball pickups.
• In the cage, Keegan Billie comes home with 15 saves.
• The Pride go 23 for 28 in clears and scoop 26 ground balls.

HOW IT HAPPENED AT KINSLEY FIELD
 
The Pride open the shooting game early as the first faceoff resulted in a Spartan violation. The next possession, Wesley Sporer's shot was saved. The next Sporer shot found the back of the cage to tie the game at one with 8:11 on the clock. The Pride would take the lead on a Heisman shot. As time expired in the first the Spartans added three unanswered goals to head into the second with a two-point lead.
 
A slow start to the second was a momentum killer for the Pride as the Spartans took advantage of a 5-0 run forcing a timeout in the middle of the stretch. A man-up goal from Matt Buckley broke the Spartan run to tally his 23^rd goal of the season. The second Pride timeout came with 2:43 in the quarter. Out of the timeout, the Pride rattled off shots that fell short.
 
Opening the third quarter was a Heisman goal nearly five minutes into the quarter. The Pride kept fighting as they outscored the Spartans four goals to two in the quarter. A ground ball pickup from Young gave the team a successful clear and another Heisman goal. Billie's saves kept the Spartan's goals limited and allowed Bryant Maits and Heisman to score to head into the fourth down 10.
 
A goalie change from the Spartans allowed Samuel Haverstrom to score on a Buckley assist out of the gates. The Spartans kept the pressure on as they scored three more before Matthew Marino found the back of the cage to give the Pride a chance for a timeout. As time ticked, the Spartans tacked on three more goals to end the game and send the Pride home with a 23-9 loss in the semifinal game.
 
On the season, Heisman would score a career high 64 goals in the season and add on 26 assists. Defensive specialist and senior Drew Venit would lead the team in caused turnovers with 27 and 33 ground ball pickups while also scoring a career high two goals. In Billie's 683 minutes in the cage, he would come home with 167 total saves in his 13 games started.