Dan Saltsman was the last of nine seniors called onto Jeffrey Field to be recognized Saturday night, so he only had a minute or two to reflect on his four years at Penn State before the Nittany Lions played St. Joseph's.

It didn't matter, though. Standing under the lights, Saltsman had enough time to relive, just for a moment, a win against Virginia the last game of his freshman season. He had a chance to think back to fellow senior attacker Brian Boyle's performance behind the cage against Georgetown as juniors last season.

There was one thing that hadn't happened yet, however, that would occur Saturday night: Saltsman, a four-year starter on defense, would finally score a goal.

Saltsman scored the first goal of his career in the first quarter Saturday as the Penn State men's lacrosse team (5-7, 3-3 ECAC) beat St. Joseph's (5-11, 5-3 MAAC), 12-9. It was a night when the team's seniors were recognized before the game and didn't disappoint during it.

"Your whole career kind of flashes before your eyes," Saltsman said after the game. "It's something you're really going to miss. You remember the good times."

Saltsman and Boyle, a senior attacker, have been friends since their pre-Lion days when they lived in neighboring towns in New Hampshire. Before Saturday's game, Saltsman told Boyle he wanted to score a goal.

Boyle was optimistic about the idea, but he knew it wouldn't be wise for Saltsman to try to hold the ball in his stick the entire way down the field -- inevitably, a member of the Hawks would try to check him. So he struck a deal with Saltsman: the defenseman would throw Boyle the ball once he was halfway there, he would carry it down the field, and ultimately feed Saltsman the ball when the timing was right.

"He was like, 'just pass the ball to me when you come down, go to the crease, and I'll get it to you,' " Saltsman said. "And that's exactly what we did."

Boyle was happy the plan worked. But his success didn't stop there. On a night when the Lions equaled their season-high for goals in a game, Boyle was the backbone of the team's offense.

He scored eight points -- two goals and six assists -- Saturday night, more than in any game in his career.

"[We have been] kind of waiting to just explode in terms of getting more goals," Boyle said. "It was only a matter of time. We have enough talent, it's just things haven't worked out, shooting-wise."

There were nine seniors recognized, and it wasn't just Boyle and Saltsman's game. Senior defenseman Matt Mulqueen scooped four ground balls, senior attacker Gil Pearsall scored one goal and senior midfielders Matt Radecic and Pat Heim each provided an assist.

Penn State coach Glenn Thiel was pleased with the seniors' effort, but he's not ready for the season to end yet. The Lions have one more game left next weekend at ECAC rival Georgetown.