MORRISVILLE, N.Y. – The Morrisville State men's lacrosse team posted a five goal third quarter and edged the fourth seeded Cazenovia College Wildcats 4-3 in the final frame as they posted the second half comeback win in the semifinal round of the North Eastern Athletic Conference (NEAC) Championship Tournament held on Drake Field in Morrisville Wednesday afternoon.
With the win, Morrisville State advances to the championship final to be held Saturday, May 4 at 5 p.m. in Morrisville against SUNY Polytechnic. The third seeded Wildcats advanced following a 13-12 defeat of second seed Keuka this evening.
THE BASICS:
- Final Score: Morrisville 13, Cazenovia 12
- Location: Drake Field, Morrisville, N.Y.
- Records: Morrisville 9-6, Cazenovia 6-6
WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW:
- Morrisville State notched the first tally of the day just 47 seconds in off an unassisted score by Peter Pina (Culver City, Calif.), but Shea Adams posted two straight for Cazenovia to give the fourth seeded Wildcats a 2-1 advantage with 2:43 to go in the opening frame.
- A score by senior Shawn Walberger (Fulton, N.Y.) off the face-off evened the contest at two, but Giovanni Kelso responded for Cazenovia with the third tally of the quarter for the 3-2 advantage after one.
- Zach Palin (Lafayette, N.Y.) brought the Mustangs even with an unassisted mark at 13:48, but Joe Timm posted back-to-back scores to give Cazenovia a two goal edge midway through.
- After a Mustang tally by Chris Dovi (Cortland, N.Y.) at the 5:25 mark, Connor Smith collected his first of the afternoon with 1:28 to go to send the game into the break with a 6-4 Cazenovia lead.
- Two quick tallies by Cazenovia, one from Jeff Baine and a third from Timm gave extended the Wildcat lead to four early on.
- Palin notched his second of the afternoon at the 9:16 mark to cut the deficit to three, kicking off a 4-0 run by the Mustangs to get back in the contest.
- Nick Geswaldo (Lafayette, N.Y.) collected his first of the afternoon with 4:04 to go, before adding another at 1:47 to make it a one goal ball game.
- Sophomore Nick McCormick (Cortland, N.Y.) collected the ensuing faceoff and within a mere five seconds evened the contest at eight with 1:42 to go in the third.
- Smith put Cazenovia back on top with the extra man score, but Geswaldo evened the contest for a third time with this hat trick score 31 seconds before the end of the quarter.
- The Mustangs rally continued into the final frame as they collected three straight, all within the opening three minutes of the final fifteen. Geswaldo notched his fourth of the day, a third from Palin for the hat trick performance, followed by a tally from long stick midfielder Chad Temple (Minoa, N.Y.) on the clear.
- Cazenovia wouldn't go away without a fight though, as Brock Post scored two straight to make it a one goal host lead, but a Dovi extra man tally gave the Mustangs what they needed to hold on for the advancing win.
- Niko Cejic (Johnson City, N.Y.) posted nine saves in the win, also collecting two ground balls.
- Morrisville State forced 17 of Cazenovia's 26 total turnovers, five of which were from defenseman Zach Mabry (Suffern, N.Y.). Mabry also collected five ground balls, as the Mustangs held the 42-30 advantage.
WHAT'S NEXT:
- Cazenovia wraps up the season with a 6-6 overall record.
- Morrisville State will look to defend their title for a fifth straight season on Saturday as they take on third seed SUNY Poly (10-5) at 5 p.m. in Morrisville.
- The Mustangs used a seven goal third quarter back in early April to top the Wildcats 12-10 in the NEAC season opener.
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 & World Report Best Colleges 2018 issue and was also recognized in the Top Public Schools, Regional Colleges North in the 2018 Best Colleges rankings. For more information about Morrisville State College, visit www.morrisville.edu.
#30#