Division II Recap: The Cinderella Run of Saint Michael's Continues

On paper, maybe Saint Michael's shouldn't have won on Sunday. The seventh-seeded Purple Knights were on the wrong side of the box score against the second-seeded Saint Anselm Hawks in shots (43-26), ground balls (42-23) and faceoffs (14-6).

But "on paper" means very little when there's a game to be played.

The Purple Knights used a balanced offensive effort to beat Saint Anselm 9-8 and advance to the NCAA quarterfinals on Wednesday. Sean Murphy and Owen Balfour each had two goals and two assists and five other players each chipped in a goal. Nate Gulachenski made 15 saves, including three in the fourth quarter.

Saint Michael's led 8-4 when Chris Davis fed Balfour with 4:43 left in the third quarter. They led 9-5 when Balfour finished a Murphy feed with 11:26 to go. Saint Anselm finished the game on a 3-0 run, but the Hawks didn't have enough to come all the way back.

Continue below to see the rest of the winners and quarterfinal schedule. Those quarterfinal games are scheduled for Wednesday, May 13, at 4 p.m. Eastern.

NCAA DIVISION II MEN’S TOURNAMENT
FIRST ROUND SCORES

North

(1) Adelphi def. (8) Wilmington 16-6
(3) Molloy def. (6) Assumption 15-12
(4) Pace def. (5) Seton Hill 18-13
(7) Saint Michael's def. (2) Saint Anselm 9-8

South

(1) Tampa def. (9) Flagler 12-3
(4) Lewis def. (5) Newberry 15-14
(6) Lenoir-Rhyne def. (3) Florida Tech 16-8
(7) Anderson def. (2) Wingate 21-13

NCAA DIVISION II MEN’S TOURNAMENT
QUARTERFINAL SCHEDULE

Games scheduled for Wednesday, May 13, at 4 p.m. Eastern.

North

(1) Adelphi vs. (4) Pace
(3) Molloy vs. (7) Saint Michael's

South

(1) Tampa vs. (4) Lewis
(6) Lenoir-Rhyne vs. (7) Anderson