OWINGS MILL, Md. --- Richard Lachlan (Port Coquitlam, B.C., Terry Fox Secondary) goal in the waning seconds capped an incredible 13-12 victory over #3 Stevenson in the NCAA Quarterfinals at Caves Athletic Complex. The Maroons, ranked #7 in the USILA national rankings, won their 12th-straight and propelled to 17-3. The Mustangs, who were the third overall seed in the NCAA Tournament, finished the year, 18-3.
The Maroons, 6-3 against USILA Top-20 teams this spring, knocked off their second consecutive nationally-ranked opponent, none bigger than the third-ranked and second-best offense in the country.
With the last six opponents ending their season to the hands of Roanoke, the win ended a three-game skid and avenged an early-season loss against the Mustangs. It was the first win over Stevenson since the first meeting in 2001, when SU was formerly Villa Julie.
With the game tied at 12-all with less than a minute remaining in regulation, goalie Charles Pease (Landisville, PA, Hempfield) came up with three big saves in back-to-back man-down situations. He then cleared the ball to Mike Hayden (Vienna, VA, James Madison HS), who ran along the sideline and fed it to Lachlan, who shot from his hip for the game-winner.
Making its 23rd national quarterfinal appearance, Roanoke is now 20-21 in the NCAA Tournament. It is the programs' first semifinal appearance since 2006, which marks the third in seven years.
Roanoke, which lost four starters entering the post-season, clinched a remarkable third-straight season with 17 wins. The historic win also earned a ninth trip to the national semifinals for the 40-year program.
Stevenson needed only 27-seconds to score the opening goal, as Tony Rossi found twine to give the Mustangs the early lead. Roanoke scored two of the ensuing three goals of the contest to give the Maroons their first lead of the contest, 3-2.
With the score tied at 4-4, the Mustangs netted three unanswered goals to put them up, 6-4 with 13:14 remaining in the half.
The Maroons responded, scoring six of the next seven goals, all by a different player, to take a game-high three-goal lead, 10-7 with 4:16 to go in the second quarter. It tied the largest deficit the Mustangs suffered all season.
Tyler Reid and Jimmy Dailey combined for five goals over the next 17-minutes, including Dailey's with 9:50 left in the fourth to give Stevenson its first lead since early in the second quarter, 12-11.
Joey Coretti (East Grand Rapids, MI, East Grand Rapids ) took Conner DuBois (Lititz, PA, Manheim Township) pass just outside the crease and faked the goalie as his shot went bottom right to tie the contest with 2:51 left.
Stevenson held the edge on paper in shots (57-42), shots on goal (34-27), groundballs (38-24) and face-offs (20-of-29). There were eight ties as the lead changed hands on six different occasions.
Tyler Reid and Tony Rossi led the Mustangs with four goals on the afternoon. CAC Player of the Year and conference scoring leader Jimmy Dailey was held to two goals. Ray Witte won 20-of-29 face-offs and netted two goals, collecting 14 groundballs. Evan Douglass collected six groundballs for SU.
Ian Bolland totaled 14 saves for Stevenson, as he finished with an 18-3 record in goal. Pease (13-2) posted a career-best 22 saves for his 12th-staight win in goal.
Jeff Keating (Chatham, NJ, Chatham) led the offense with five goals, which moved him up to 13th on the career scoring list (191). His 85 points this spring is now seven points shy of breaking the single-season scoring record.
Joey Coretti (East Grand Rapids, MI, East Grand Rapids ) finished with three goals, his third-straight multi-goal game. He has been hot this post-season, scoring 12 goals in five games, including 10 in the NCAA Tournament.
Hayden had a goal and a team-best three assists. That makes it six out of the last seven games with at least four points, including the last four post-season contests.
Kyle Smith (Roanoke, VA, Patrick Henry), who has scored in four of the last five games, contributed a goal and two assists for a career-best three points. Troy Grogan (Palgrave, Ontario, Culver Academies) tied a career-high with five groundballs, followed by Alex Burkhead (Winston-Salem, NC, Forsyth Country Day) and Justin Tuma (Bloomfield Hills, MI, Lahser) with four each. Lachlan added two goals for the Maroons, giving him a team-best 56 on the season.
The men will travel to eastern Maryland to take on #1 overall tournament seed Salisbury in the National Semifinals. Game date and time are set for Sunday, May 22nd at 1:00 p.m.
Inside Lacrosse Article
Baltimore Sun Article
Roanoke Times Article
PresBoxOnline.com Article
