@NCAADII
Hickory, N.C. – On Sunday, May 20, the #2 Saint Leo men’s lacrosse team played #1 Lenoir-Rhyne in the NCAA Division II Men’s Lacrosse National Semi-Finals. The Lions traveled to Hickory, North Carolina after defeating the University of Tampa Spartans in the quarterfinals on May 12. Saint Leo would leave North Carolina victorious after a tightly contested upset of the Lenoir-Rhyne Bears 12-11.
The Lions held a two-goal advantage through three-quarters of play, but the Bears made a push in the fourth quarter outscoring Saint Leo 3-2. Unfortunately for Lenoir-Rhyne, the late comeback was not enough to bring the game into overtime. The visitors would leave victorious despite being outshot by the Bears 59-30, including a large differential of 14-3 in the fourth quarter. The large split in shots easily makes redshirt junior goalkeeper Thomas Tatarian the Lions most valuable player as he was able to make 16 saves in the game.
Other notable contributors for Saint Leo were Kyle Pauwels and Matt Shand who both recorded three-point games, including two goals each. The Lions did a great job spreading the ball around as 10 different players helped contribute to their 12 goal total. On the other side of the field, senior Ben Corrigan was the game’s leading scorer with a seven-point performance, including three goals of his own. The Bears were also supported with a hat-trick by junior Quinn Kuhn and a three-point effort by junior Joe Buduo. Even with these great statistical showings, Lenoir-Rhyne was unable to beat the tough Saint Leo defense and goaltending.
Saint Leo will now travel to Gillette Stadium in Foxborough, Massachusetts to play in the program’s first national championship game. The Lions will be facing off against #1 Merrimack College and will considered the underdogs for the second game in a row. Merrimack finished the regular season with a 13-1 record, and Saint Leo finished with a 14-2 record, both schools also finished the year as the second highest ranking team in their respective regions. All of this should make for a hard-fought game on Sunday, May 27 when the two teams compete for the National Title.
