Morrisville State downs Keuka, 10-3, advances to NEAC final for fourth straight year

Morrisville State downs Keuka, 10-3, advances to NEAC final for fourth straight year

MORRISVILLE, N.Y. – The top seeded Morrisville State College men's lacrosse team advanced to the North Eastern Athletic Conference (NEAC) championship final for a fourth straight season Wednesday evening, defeating fourth seeded Keuka College 10-3 in semifinal action on Drake Field in Morrisville.

Morrisville State (9-5), who avenged their lone conference loss to the Wolves (8-6), will meet second seeded Cazenovia College for the title, and NEAC automatic bid to the NCAA Division III tournament. Face-off is scheduled for 2 p.m. on Drake Field in Morrisville.

Cazenovia defeated third seeded Bryn Athyn College 13-10 in this afternoon's other semifinal.

Senior Kyle Shannon (Stanhope, N.J.) led the Mustangs with three goals, assisting another, as six additional teammates posted strikes against the Wolves.

Brad Biggs (Tully, N.Y.) notched two scores, and Logan Peters (Yorktown Heights, N.Y.) one goal and two assists, while teammates Mike Ready (Lafayette, N.Y.), Corey Grace (Penn Yan, N.Y.) and Chris Dovi (Cortland, N.Y.) each collected a tally.

Ready also had an assist along with Eric Fisher (Nutley, N.J.) to round out Morrisville State's scoring.

Senior Tyler Catalfano (Rochester, N.Y.) recorded the win between the pipes for the Mustangs, posting nine total saves, including three in each the third and fourth quarters.

Matt Shattuck (Syracuse, N.Y.) scored twice in the opening five minutes of the contest to give Keuka the 2-0 advantage over the hosts, and carried that lead into the second before an extra man strike by Shannon put the Mustangs on the board a mere eight seconds into the next frame.

Shannon struck again minutes later with an unassisted goal to even the contest at two, before Morrisville State rattled off three more scores, including their second extra man tally with 2:34 to go in the quarter for the 5-2 lead.

Keuka, who remained scoreless since the 10:35 mark of the first quarter, was able to add one to their total with 35.9 seconds to go before the half, as Andrew Burns (Syracuse, N.Y.) put one over the shoulder of Catalfano, cutting the deficit to two.

Morrisville State, though, would add a final strike with nine ticks to go before the half, as Biggs buried his first of the game for the 6-3 lead at the break.

Both teams battled back and forth in the third, with neither able to put one up on the board until the 2:42 mark when Biggs notched his second of the game off the quick pass from Peters.

Geswaldo added the final strike of the quarter for the Mustangs with 1:42 to go, scoring the third man up tally of the game for the comfortable 8-3 lead after three quarters.

Morrisville State's defensive unit continued to keep the Wolves scoreless in the fourth, while adding two more to their total, a third from Shannon at 11:26 and Peters at 10:47 as the Mustangs posted the 10-3 win to advance.

Morrisville State held the 27-18 advantage in shots on the day, and edged Keuka 24-23 in the ground ball battle. Noah Greger (Danbury, Conn.) collected a team high four for the Mustangs, causing two turnovers.

The Mustangs have earned the NEAC Tournament title and made an appearance in the NCAA Division III Tournament two out of the past three seasons.

Morrisville State College's curricula are enriched with applied learning and pave the way for opportunity at both the Morrisville and Norwich campuses. An action-oriented, interactive learning lab, the college is a national leader in technology and has been lauded for its exemplary, innovative and effective community service programs.

The college was ranked among the Best Regional Colleges in the North by U.S. News and World Report Best Colleges 2016 issue and was also recognized in the Top Public Schools, Regional Colleges North in the 2016 Best Colleges rankings. For more information about Morrisville State College, visit www.morrisville.edu.

 

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