The University of Scranton men's lacrosse team captured its fourth consecutive Landmark Conference Championship with a 9-7 victory over Catholic University on Saturday afternoon at Weiss Field.
With the win, the Royals secured the program's fifth Landmark Conference title, moving into sole possession of first place in conference history. Scranton also became the first team in Landmark men's lacrosse history to win four straight conference championships.
The Basics
- Final Score: Scranton 9, Catholic 7
- Records: Scranton (13-6), Catholic (13-6)
How It Happened
- Scranton opened the scoring midway through the first quarter as Chase Ritcey finished a feed from Jason Kozak, but Catholic responded with back-to-back goals from Alejandro Masferrer and Will Gilfillan to take a 2-1 lead.
- The Royals answered late in the opening quarter when Cooper Roberts scored off another Kozak assist to even the score at 2-2 heading into the second.
- Catholic regained the lead early in the second quarter on Ryan Carickhoff's goal, but Scranton closed the half on a 3-0 run. Kozak tied the game with an unassisted goal before Brian Kraemer gave the Royals the lead off an assist from Brendan Donohue. Kyle Holmes then scored with 34 seconds remaining in the half to send Scranton into the break with a 5-3 advantage.
- Ritcey extended the lead early in the third quarter after finishing a pass from Quinn Carson to make it 6-3.
- The Cardinals responded with consecutive goals from Carickhoff and Steven Dezelic to cut the deficit to one, but Carson scored back-to-back unassisted goals in the final two minutes of the quarter to push the Royals' lead to 8-5 entering the fourth.
- Brendan Donohue added an insurance goal early in the fourth quarter to make it 9-5.
- Catholic scored twice in the final period on goals from Finn Smith and Gilfillan, but Scranton's defense held firm down the stretch to secure the championship victory.
Top Performers
Inside the Box Score
- Scranton held a 37-39 deficit in total shots but owned a 28-21 advantage in shots on goal.
- Catholic held a 31-30 edge in ground balls and won the faceoff battle, 13-7.
- The Royals committed just 16 turnovers compared to 22 by the Cardinals.
Up Next
- Scranton has earned the Landmark Conference's automatic bid to the NCAA Division III Tournament and will await its postseason destination during the NCAA Selection Show on Sunday, May 3 at 9:00 p.m. on NCAA.com.
