Morrisville State men claim fifth straight title, earn NEAC automatic bid to NCAA Tourney with 13-8 win over Poly  

Morrisville State men claim fifth straight title, earn NEAC automatic bid to NCAA Tourney with 13-8 win over Poly  

 

MORRISVILLE, N.Y. – The Morrisville State men's lacrosse team claimed their fifth straight North Eastern Athletic Conference (NEAC) Championship title Saturday evening as they topped third seeded SUNY Poly by a 13-8 final score on Drake Field in Morrisville.

The Mustangs earn the conference's automatic bid to the NCAA Division III Championship tournament, with tournament selections taking place Sunday night at 9 p.m. ET on ncaa.com.

THE BASICS:

  • Final Score: Morrisville State 13, SUNY Poly 8
  • Location: Drake Field, Morrisville, N.Y.
  • Records: Morrisville 10-6, SUNY Poly 10-6
  • Game Notes: 2019 NEAC Men's Lacrosse Championship Final

WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW:

  • Morrisville State jumped out to a 5-2 lead after the opening quarter with five different Mustangs collecting tallies, before adding another five in the second while keeping the Wildcats scoreless to claim the 10-2 advantage at the half.
  • The top seeds maintained their distance in the third, posting three more, while Poly collected another two and in the fourth, the Wildcats threatened a comeback with their four goal effort but fell short on time as Morrisville State earned the trophy.
  • This is the fourth championship title for the Mustang senior class in their careers, collecting a 30-1 overall NEAC record across the four seasons with four regular season and championship tournament titles, alongside four consecutive appearances in the NCAA tournament, becoming the most decorated class in the history of the program.
  • Edward Rosaschi led all scorers with six goals and seven points for SUNY Poly, with additional tallies coming from Jacob Elliott and Chase LaCava.
  • Elliott also added a high five ground balls alongside Ryan Mead, who went 7-for-12 from the center x.
  • Charles Rosaschi posted the loss in net for Poly, turning away a game total 12, five in the opening quarter.
  • Six different Mustangs posted scores in the title win, including Chris Dovi (Cortland, N.Y.) who collected a team high four goals and two assists.
  • Joseph Rosaschi (Syracuse, N.Y.) and Nick Geswaldo (Lafayette, N.Y.) each added the hat trick performance with three tallies apiece, while also dishing out an assist each.
  • Peter Pina (Culver City, Calif.) notched a score and assisted another three, with Zach Palin (Lafayette, N.Y.) and Chad Temple (Minoa, N.Y.) rounding out the Mustang leaderboard with one goal each.
  • Niko Cejic (Johnson City, N.Y.) turned away 11 in the win between the pipes, four in the final quarter of action. He compiled a total 20 saves across the two-game affair to earn tournament Most Valuable Player honors.
  • Morrisville State held the 49-32 advantage in ground balls with a trio of Mustangs each collecting seven. Paul Tocci (Riverhead, N.Y.), Shawn Walberger (Fulton, N.Y.) and Zack Mabry (Suffern, N.Y.) each collected seven, also combining for a total 12 caused turnovers on the night. Tocci led the 'Stangs with seven caused miscues.
  • The Mustangs went a combined 15-for-23 from the face-off line; Walberger posting an 11-for-16 tally and Nate McCormick (Cortland, N.Y.) a 4-for-7 effort.

WHAT'S NEXT:

  • SUNY Poly concludes their historical season with a 10-6 overall record. This was their first appearance in the NEAC finals in program history.
  • Morrisville State will be making their fifth straight appearance in the NCAA Division III Tournament and will learn their next opponent during the selection show scheduled to air Sunday night at 9 p.m. on www.ncaa.com.

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.

 

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