#7 Maroons Roll in NCAA First Round Game, Defeat Centre 21-4

#7 Maroons Roll in NCAA First Round Game, Defeat Centre 21-4
SALEM - The #7 ranked Roanoke College men's lacrosse team advanced through the first round of the 2013 NCAA Division III Men's Lacrosse Tournament after defeating Centre College 21-4 on Wednesday. The Maroons move to the second round with a record of 16-3, while the Colonels close their season with a mark of 11-4.

Today's game started the 24th NCAA Tournament run in Roanoke College men's lacrosse history. The Maroons picked up their first NCAA Tournament win since they defeated #3 Stevenson University in the NCAA Quarterfinals on May 18th, 2011. With the victory, Roanoke extends its winning streak to 14, and in 11 of those games, the Maroons have been able to keep opponent scoring in the single-digits. The Maroons must wait to find out which team they will play in the Second Round of the NCAA Tournament, as St. Mary's and Lynchburg face off at 7:00 PM. The winner of that contest will play Roanoke on Saturday, May 11th.

Roanoke opened up the first quarter with three consecutive goals, one each from Spencer Parsons, Will Carter and Tyler Cockey. With 8:43 on the clock, Centre netted its first goal as Zack Connors found the back of the net for the 44th time this season. The Maroons continued to find the back of the net, as four more goals were scored through the first period, with Roanoke taking a 7-1 lead after the first 15 minutes.

After gaining possession to start the second quarter, Centre's Connor Stubbs tallied the Colonels second goal of the day, pulling within five, 7-2. Roanoke, however, kept Centre at bay for the next 14 minutes and went on to score seven unanswered goals. During that time seven different Maroons scored, including Richard Lachlan and Will Pilat, who tallied their 51st and 32nd goal, respectively. The final goal of the half came form Colin Rossano with 16 seconds to spare, giving Roanoke the 14-2 advantage.

As they had in the second quarter, Centre scored within the first minute of the third as Stubbs tallied his second goal. The Maroons went on another run, scoring seven more goals consecutively between the third and fourth quarters. Richard Lachlan scored twice in that exchange, with Mike Hayden picking up two assists, giving him 35 on the season. With 6:17 to play in the contest, Roanoke had a 21-3 lead. The Colonels were able to light the lamp one more time with 3:30 in the game, as Peter Murphy netted his 25 goal of the season. However, Roanoke would walk away with the 21-4 victory over Centre College in the First Round of the NCAA Tournament.

Richard Lachlan and Spencer Parsons led the Maroons in scoring, while Lachlan had a high mark in points with four with his one assist. Tyler McWilliams, Tyler Cockey, Chad Smith and Will Carter each finished the contest with two goals apiece. Max Krauss had a successful day in face-offs winning nine of his 10 chances. Brayden Gerrie finished the contest with a team high nine groundballs. Charles Pease played the entire first half, tallying three saves.

Connor Stubbs had two of Centre's four goals in the first round contest. Zack Connors and Peter Murphy each had one as well. William Elpers tallied four ground balls on the afternoon. Bryce McCoy played 47:06 between the pipes, tallying nine saves.

The Maroons led in nearly every statistical category on the afternoon including: shots (58-19), ground balls (54-27), face-offs (20-7), clears (18-11), and turnovers (23-28). The Colonels did have the advantage in saves, tallying 14 to the Maroons' six.

The Maroons return to action on Saturday, May 11th as they take on either St. Mary's or Lynchburg College. That game has a start time of 7:00 PM, so the Maroons will know their fate around 9:00 PM this evening.

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