The DIII Sewanee Tigers (8-8, 3-3) earned a spot in the NCAA Championships with a 10-9 defeat of Rhodes College (5-13, 3-3).
The Tigers claim their 5th Southern Athletic Association Title. They previously had the title in 2013-15-16 and 2017.
Not bad for a program that has only been in existence 15 years.
Kevin M. Neibauer.
LaxPhilly– A Division of the Edge of Philly Sports Network.
To the Action
This one was a chess match for the first half. Neither squad could score more than one in a row
Luke Valentine (3g) out the Tigers in front with an unassisted marker at 12:16.
It took just nineteen seconds for David Hart (1g) to even things up
Valentine went back to work converting a nice Davis Gillenwater set up.
The quick answer at 9:43 from Sammy Carter (2g) put it to a second even score.
Ashton Anton (1g) ended the first with a Sewanee 3-2 edge.
Second and More of the Same
Geist Pollock (1a) sent a crisp pass that Carter buried to, once again, knot it up.
Jack Westfall (1g) for the Tigers followed by Liam Sullivan rolling up his sleeves for Ryan Dancy (2g) to keep the tied game pattern going.
The combatants went to the locker rooms locked in a 4-4 battle.
Third Stanza.
Will Wyckoff hit a breaking Devon Root (1g,1a) at 12:20 giving Sewanee a lead.
Sewanee made half time adjustments and they would pay off.
Tigers netminder, Greg Ix made a save and it would be Ryan Hofstetter (1g) going off to the races for an unassisted net bender.
:38 later, Will Wyckoff (2g,1a) made it a three goal game, 7-4.
Rhodes would stop the run with Christian Cisneros picking up his first of three assists when he hit Cole Hollander (1g) with 4:58 remaining.
Wyckoff followed by Davis Gillenwater (1g,1a) with exactly 1:00 left made it a four goal Rhodes differential, 9-5.
Can Rhodes Launch a Comeback?
A comeback indeed. Liam Sullivan (12:13), Jonathan Hazelhurst (1g) at 9:22 and Ryan Dancy (8:42) made it interesting with a 9-8 score.
Valentine completed his hat-trick at 6:28.
Cisneros found a wide open, Conor Casey (1g) and with 4:34 remaining, the crowd at South Campus Field, were on the edge of their seats.
Rhodes had three possessions but untimely turnovers spelled the difference and Sewanee won their fifth.
News and Notes:
• Goaltending was the story in this one. Sewanee’s Greg Ix turned aside a career high 14 saves with Brendan Roberts with an eye popping 19 stops in defeat.
• Face offs were nearly even with the Tigers winning 11 of 21 in the person of Charlie Warren.
• Shots revealed a 40-34 Tigers edge with on goal going 24-20 the Rhodes way
• Turnovers had Sewanee with 22 and Rhodes 16.
• Rhodes also had the edge on ground balls, 32-30.
Championship Ticket Punched
Kevin has followed and promoted the game of lacrosse since May 19, 1974.
The same day the Philadelphia Flyers won the Cup, the Philadelphia Wings were introduced to Neibauer and Philadelphia.
Kevin has covered many sports, including baseball, football, basketball, and.. lacrosse. A former licensed football referee and baseball umpire, Kevin brings a unique insight to his game coverage.
A published writer in JustHockey Magazine, Kevin covered the American Hockey League as well as a monthly story on a pugilist where Kevin used the pen name, The Rink Rat. Neibauer turned his attentions to lacrosse for a few years and does his part, whether podcasting or writing to grow the game. Kevin branched out to his roots and currently provides insight for all Philadelphia teams for Edge of Philly as well as his full-time duties with LaxPhilly.
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