Recap: OT Thrillers, Titans Clash in D-III Men's Lacrosse Conference Finals

There were so many Division III championship games this weekend that it is difficult to know where to start.

Kidding — we’re heading first for the Centennial, which was an instant classic that saw Gettysburg take down last year’s NCAA finalist Dickinson 13-12 in overtime. The Bullets rattled off three straight goals in the fourth quarter to tie it, culminating in Jackson Barroll’s third goal with nine seconds left to send it into overtime. The overtime also belonged to Gettysburg, which braved an early shot by Dickinson’s Preston Boyd that was saved by netminder Murphy Hoey. The Bullets cleared the ball, called a timeout, then bucked off four shots before having to force a turnover to get the ball back, setting up Jackson Hearn for the game winner with 45 seconds left. 

In the Empire 8, Nazareth’s underdog run to the conference title game came to an end at the hands of St. John Fisher, 14-7. The Cardinals took care of business with a seven-goal explosion in the second stanza that gave them a 9-3 lead that was too insurmountable for the Golden Flyers to overcome. St. John Fisher finished with a 65-36 shot advantage, as eight different goal scorers found the back of the net.

The NESCAC semis set up a titanic rematch between two of the nation’s best teams, as Tufts advanced past Bates 15-7 and Bowdoin downed Hamilton 17-11. Round two of the matchup, if nothing else, should make lacrosse fans hungry for a possible rubber match. Tufts used an 8-1 second quarter to build a massive lead. The big guns for both squads all had their “A” games. Jack Regnery and Will Emsing had seven points each, while Garrett Kelly had six points of his own. Casey Ryan had five points, and Chris Berry added four. Neither netminder had a great day statistically, but this game was played at Tufts’ pace, and that keyed the victory, even as Bowdoin attempted a valiant comeback that was too late.

The Liberty League final between Union and RIT was all Tigers. Union played a brutally hard schedule this season, and in mid-March had just one win. But it found its form down the stretch and took down some quality opponents on its way to the final. Simply put, Union just ran out of gas. Union battled early, but whatever secret stuff RIT had at halftime got the job done. A 7-0 third quarter was more than enough to ice the title game, particularly on a day when Alex Zborowski went 69 percent in net.

The collision course that was expected between Salisbury and Christopher Newport delivered an overtime classic. Mason Bellinger was on fire early for CNU, and if not for him, the game would have been tighter throughout, but the Captain netminder made eight first-quarter saves to allow CNU to build an early lead. The Captains led 9-3 at the half, and then the Gulls slammed the door shut. They completely blanked CNU in the second half, scoring six in a row in regulation before a Preston Huffman unassisted goal won it in OT. Bret Bergey (yes, as in Jake Bergey) had four of his five goals in the second half, while Riley Strub tallied five points. 

In the ODAC, Washington and Lee and Lynchburg lined up for a rematch of the instant classic they played in the regular season. This one, however, was all Generals from the start. Israel Mikkelson was on fire at the faceoff X, which fueled the make-it-take-it ball that led to seven first-quarter goals and a 7-1 lead for W&L. Mikkelson kept the field tilted all day, finishing 23 of 27 at the faceoff spot with 19 ground balls and a goal. Lynchburg’s defense didn’t play poorly; it was just under siege all afternoon.

York’s incredible run continued with another MAC Commonwealth championship thanks to a 15-8 victory over Stevenson. The Spartans quietly stayed up in the top 10 for the entire season. They might be one of the most consistent teams in the country heading into the NCAA tournament. No one wants to play York.

Elsewhere in Division III, Western New England upended Endicott to take home the CNE title. Hope won the MIAA, Pfeiffer won the USA South, Scranton won the Landmark, SUNY Maritime claimed the Skyline, Rhodes won the SAA, Marymount won the Atlantic East, and Ohio Northern won their second straight OAC title.