Saint Leo, Fla- On Saturday, May, 12, the #6 Saint Leo Men’s Lacrosse team played conference rival University of Tampa in the first round of the Division II National Championships. The Lions and Spartans played a hard-fought game that led to a Saint Leo win just six seconds into overtime.
The two teams were neck and neck through the most of regulation time, with Saint Leo leading by one in the second and third periods. Tampa was able to tie the game up in the fourth period with a goal by Jake Mosher McGraw with only 1:05 left in regulation.
With both schools tied going into overtime and the first round of the tournament on the line, Saint Leo sophomore Ethan Ticehurst won the initial face-off, retrieved the ball, and scored the game-winning goal just six seconds into play, advancing the Lions past the Spartans with a final score of 12-11.
The win comes weeks after the Lions lost to the Spartans in the Sunshine State Conference Championship. Even with the loss in the SSC Championship, Saint Leo was able to take down Tampa on the national stage and advance to the Division II Semifinals.
Some of the stars of the game included Saint Leo’s Jake Gilmour who recorded four goals and an assist, as well as Kyle Pauwels with four points total and Ticehurst who had the game-winning goal. On the Spartans side, McGraw was the star player with two goals and two assists of his own.
With the exciting overtime victory behind them, Saint Leo will travel to Hickory, North Carolina to play #1 Lenoir-Rhyne University with the winner advancing to the Division II Men’s Lacrosse National Championship Game. On the opposite side of the bracket, Merrimack College will be playing Seton Hill University in the other semi-finals matchup.
