CANTON, N.Y. – The top-seeded St. Lawrence University men's lacrosse team edged third-seeded Union College, 10-9, in the Liberty League title game Sunday afternoon at North Country Field. The Dutchmen (12-4), who twice held three-goal leads, were making their first-ever championship game appearance and will await a possible 2008 NCAA Tournament berth, announced Sunday evening by the selection committee, televised live on CBS College Sports.
Senior
Chris Collison (Trumbull, Conn.) led Union with three goals and an assist, and recorded two of Union's three man-up tallies. Classmate
Jon Miller (Yarmouth, Maine) added three goals,
Tom Simmons (Salisbury, Conn.) scored twice, and
Dana Lasher (Norfolk, Mass.) notched a tally.
Chris Jacobson (Northborough, Mass.) picked up three assists, and freshman
Brendan Kinnane (Little Compton, R.I.) assisted on another.
St. Lawrence sophomore Will McKee, named the Liberty League's Player of the Year, led the Saints with four second-half goals, including the game-winner with 3:31 remaining in the contest to give 12th-ranked St. Lawrence its third consecutive conference championship and an automatic bid into the 2008 NCAA Tournament.
The Dutchmen came out clicking on all cylinders offensively, as they scored the game's opening three goals for a 3-0 advantage. After Simmons and Collison put the visitors on top 2-0, Miller used a great move to elude a defender and fired a shot past St. Lawrence goaltender Thomas Hollingsworth, forcing the Saints to burn a timeout only 4:26 into the game.
St. Lawrence regrouped in the timeout and was able to pull to within a goal at the end of the first quarter. Junior Peter Carroll picked up a rebound behind Union goaltender
Christopher Keinath (Wilbraham, Mass.) and used a wrap-around move to get the Saints on the board at 3-1. Fellow classmate Alex Slauson then made it 3-2 when he bounced a shot that hit the netting just below the crossbar to complete the first quarter scoring at 13:48.
After senior Kevin Russell evened the score at 3-3 on a touch pass by Carroll, senior Ben Prime gave the Saints their first lead at 4-3 with 6:32 to play in the second quarter. Carroll again set up the goal, hitting Prime with an entry pass in front of the crease. The Saints used the momentum to take their largest lead of the day at 5-3 when senior Brian Chamberlain took the ball from the midfield and beat Keinath for his first goal of the season.
With the second quarter winding down, a penalty to St. Lawrence's Carl Festa gave Union the first man-up chance of the game. Collison made the most of the opportunity, launching a long shot past Hollingsworth to send the Dutchmen to the locker room after the opening half facing only a one-goal deficit at 5-4.
Union would again seize control early the third quarter, scoring four straight goals to build an 8-5 lead. Lasher scored on a long shot through a screen that bounced past Hollingsworth to tie the game at 5-5 to open the half.
Miller then added his second of the game when he snuck a shot between the goaltender and the near post for a 6-5 cushion and Simmons blew a shot past Hollingsworth's stick from just outside the crease for a two-goal advantage. Collison put the finishing touches on the five-goal run with a man-up goal for an 8-5 Union lead with 6:36 to play in the third quarter.
The Saints capitalized on a man-up chance when sophomore Scott Smith took a pass from Carroll and tucked it behind Keinath. The goal got St. Lawrence rolling again, with McKee scoring back-to-back goals to close out the third quarter, including one with only 2.6 seconds left on the clock, to even the score at 8-8 heading to the final 15 minutes.
Miller, who has been the cornerstone of Union's team for four seasons, gave his team the lead for the third time on the afternoon at 9-8 when he fired a shot past Hollingsworth at 2:53 of the fourth quarter during a man-up chance. McKee evened the score at 9-9 only 1:36 later when Russell came away with a key ground ball, fed his fellow attackman and McKee sniped a shot between the goaltender's legs for his third goal of the game.
Though Union was able to take control offensively midway through the fourth quarter, a costly turnover along the sidelines gave the Saints possession. Using an ensuing man-up opportunity, Russell found McKee on the doorstep for his fourth goal of the second half to put the Saints ahead 10-9 with 3:31 remaining in regulation.
With less than two minutes to play in the game, St. Lawrence controlled the ball in the offensive zone. Two unnecessary roughness penalties dashed Union's hopes, as the Dutchmen were forced to play the final minute of the game down two players. St. Lawrence was able to keep possession and run the clock out for their 11th straight victory, third consecutive Liberty League title and an NCAA Tournament bid.
Sunday's game proved to be very evenly played, as St. Lawrence finished with 35 shots to Union's 32, each team scored three man-up goals and won 11-of-22 face-offs.
The 2008 NCAA Tournament selections will be announced Sunday night on CBS College Sports beginning at 7:30pm. CBS College Sports, formerly known as CSTV, can be found on Time Warner Digital Cable channel 663 and nationwide on Dish Network channel 152 and DirecTV channel 610. Brackets will also be posted on
www.ncaa.com after the selection show.
