#3 Men's Lacrosse Drops 8-4 Decision at #2 Le Moyne in NCAA Semifinals Saturday
Links: Box Score // Bracket
SYRACUSE, N.Y. – The third-ranked Merrimack College men's lacrosse team saw its historic 2016 campaign come to a close on Saturday, as the Warriors fell to second-seeded and unbeaten Le Moyne, 8-4, in the semifinal round of the NCAA Tournament.
The Basics
Score: Le Moyne 8, Merrimack 4
Records: #3 Merrimack (15-3) | #2 Le Moyne (19-0)
Location: Ted Grant Field | Syracuse, N.Y.
2016 Division II Men's Lacrosse NCAA Tournament Schedule
Saturday, May 14
Quarterfinals – North Region
Game 1: #1 Le Moyne def. NYIT, 8-7 (F/OT)
Game 2: #2 Merrimack def. #3 LIU Post, 15-13
Quarterfinals – South Region
Game 3: #1 Limestone def. #4 Mount Olive, 15-6
Game 4: #3 Tampa def. #2 Mercyhurst, 10-9 (F/OT)
Saturday/Sunday, May 21/22
Semifinals – North Region
Game 5: 1 Le Moyne def. Merrimack, 8-4
Game 6: #3 Tampa at #1 Limestone (Sunday, May 22, 1 p.m.)
Sunday, May 29
National Championship – Lincoln Financial Field/Philadelphia, Pa. (1 p.m.)
#1 Le Moyne vs. #1 Limestone/#3 Tampa
Click here for full NCAA Tournament bracket!
How It Happened
Playing at Ted Grant Field for the second time in as many weeks, Merrimack met Le Moyne hoping that the third time would be the charm after dropping an 11-6 decision in Syracuse back in March during the regular season, as well as an 8-6 tally on May 7 in the NE-10 Championship Final.
A mucky first quarter saw 13 turnovers combined between the two schools, as neither defense yielded much while offensively each side was a bit jumpy with the ball.
Le Moyne's Matt Taylor gave the hosts the lead less than three minutes into the game, while on the other end Dolphins goalkeeper Alex Krawec stopped back-to-back shots to keep the Warriors off the board.
Then, the turnovers began piling up for both sides, although Merrimack had a chance late in the quarter to pull even but coughed the ball up yet again; Le Moyne would capitalize, as Logan Thomas buried a feed from Dan Entenmann with 5.5 seconds left to give the Dolphins a 2-0 lead after 15 minutes.
Merrimack got on the board with 10:27 to play in the half, as freshman Seamus Ford (Walpole, Mass.) continued his torrid postseason pace with his sixth goal of the NCAA Tournament – moving him into the tournament lead in that category – but the Dolphins answered with two goals less than a minute apart to take their largest lead of the half, 4-1, midway through the second quarter.
Another save by Krawec helped up Le Moyne's fifth goal with 4:33 left in the half, and then another Merrimack turnover set up a quick transition goal to pump the Dolphins' lead to five (6-1) with 3:25 left.
Junior Max Allen (West Caldwell, N.J.) looked to give the Warriors some momentum going into the half, depositing a feed from senior Andrew Walsh (Derry, N.H.) to cut the deficit to four, but Le Moyne won the next faceoff, called timeout, and scored with exactly one second left to take a 7-2 advantage into halftime.
Merrimack had possession for the first few minutes of the third quarter but Le Moyne's defense yielded nothing. The Dolphins eventually took their largest lead of the game at that time, 8-2, before Allen's second of the game in the final minute of the quarter got the Warriors back to within five (8-3) heading to the fourth and final frame.
Needing a five-goal rally to extend its season, sophomore Joey Diaco (West Deptford, N.J.) helped the cause after cutting into the defensive zone and barreling straight to the net where he eventually snuck one by Krawec to make it an 8-4 game.
A few minutes later, freshman Michael O'Connell (Sudbury, Mass.) had a great scoring chance but was denied over the top by Krawec. Merrimack would get the ball back and earn an extra-man opportunity, but nothing further materialized on the offensive front, as the Dolphins ran out the clock to punch a return ticket to the NCAA Tournament Final.
Notes and Numbers
- Merrimack finished the season with a new single-season wins (15), surpassing the previous single-season high of 14 (1999, 2009)
- Allen was Merrimack's only multi-goal scorer, matching Le Moyne's Matt Taylor and Logan Thomas for the game lead
- Sophomore Sam Ventresca (Woburn, Mass.) finished with seven stops, while Krawec turned away 13 for the hosts
- Sophomore Blake Boudreau (Amherst, N.H.) won 10-of-15 (66.7%) on the X, while senior Scott Corcoran (Haverhill, Mass.) matched a career-high with five caused turnovers while leading the team with seven ground balls
- As a team, Merrimack caused 14 turnovers, matching its previous season-high set against Dowling on April 28, while the Dolphins totaled a season-high 23 giveaways in total
- EMO: Merrimack (0-1) // LEM (0-1)
- SOG: Merrimack – 17 // LIEM– 15
- Ground Balls: Merrimack – 33 // LEM – 26
- Clears: Merrimack (20-for-21) // LEM (21-for-28)
--
For continuing coverage of Merrimack College Athletics, visit MerrimackAthletics.com and follow the Warriors on Twitter and on Facebook.
