SALISBURY, Md – The sixth-ranked Dickinson men's lacrosse team unfortunately had their 2023 season come to an end in the most heartbreaking way on Saturday afternoon falling 12-11 in overtime to the Captains of Christopher Newport University in the NCAA Quarterfinals at Sea Gull Stadium on the campus of Salisbury University.
The Red and White wasted little time getting on the board as
John McKee claimed the opening draw and fired a shot wide of Zac Hanway, before
Owen Porter found
Skyler Schluter for the finish. After Hanway turned aside
Will Farrell, Drew Miller missed
Chris Brandau with a shot, but Brett Jackson hit the back of the cage for the equalizer. Another faceoff win for McKee led to an attempt from Porter that was denied. The Captains had the next two shots, but none of them tested the cage, while at the other end of the field
Sam Campbell ripped the twine. A giveaway by CNU led to
Capp Reynolds tracking down a loose ball and getting it ahead to Porter for the tally and the 3-1 edge with six minutes left in the first. A stop by Brandau on Campbell Pozin allowed
Evan Karetsos to force a turnover leading to a blast from Farrell off a nice feed from
Matt Thurston.
Mac Childs would make it 5-1 less than a minute later after busting his way through the defense prompting a Captains timeout. Two more saves from Hanway on Porter and Thurston held things where they were until Coby Auslander scored to bring it down to 5-2 through one.
Dickinson pushed the margin to 6-2 with 1:52 off the clock in the second when Karetsos jarred the ball free from Andrew Cook and sprinted up field, before hitting Reynolds coming down the right-side for the long-pole bullet. After an offering from Cook missed the mark, Drew Miller restarted the play and found Alex Brendes for the goal. The Red and White would not be able to take advantage of a man-up opportunity as
Jack Murphy went wide and Porter was turned away by Hanway. Two minutes later CNU pulled within 6-4 thanks to Jackson. Over the next couple of minutes both keepers were tested as Brandau shutdown Jackson as well as Cook, while Hanway had the answer for both Campbell and Karetsos. Then, at the 11:57 mark
Charlie Baughan got out in transition and hit Schluter for the finish. One more Brandau denial led to
James Isaacson picking up a point by setting up a Farrell strike to make it 8-4 Devils with 30-minutes in the books.
An early penalty against Reynolds for a slash resulted in a CNU man-up, but it would actually be DC that cashed in as Karetsos intercepted a pass from Cook which allowed Porter to tally man-down. At the two-minute mark Brendes responded to make it 9-5. Just over a minute later Cook would be blocked by the defense. However, Will Mercado finished an unassisted goal, before Miller scored off the ensuing faceoff to cut the deficit down to just two at 9-7 still with 11:35 left. The Captains came very close to scoring again as both Daniel Siaton and Brendes rang the iron. The Devils finally made it back onto the board with 6:37 left when
Ethan Gess rolled off his defender and beat Hanway high. After two more post shots from Jackson, both Campbell and Schluter missed wide for DC. Miller would take advantage off a restart to beat Brandau on the short-side to pull within 10-8 inside the final three minutes of the third. Each team would get one final look in the last minute, but both Jackson and Thurston were unable to beat the respective keepers.
Dickinson was unable to cash in on the opening faceoff win by McKee as Hanway denied Isaacson. CNU recorded the ensuing two shots with Brandau making one save, as both defenses were lockdown over the next six minutes. The Red and White made their first shot since the 48-second mark count when Isaacson found Thurston for the rifle beyond the reach of Hanway. DC tried to add onto the lead, but Hanway had the answer for both Isaacson and Thurston. That allowed Cook to strike making it 11-9 with 5:30 left. A slashing call against the Devils then resulted in a man-up for CNU leading to Cook finding Brendes for the finish cutting it to 11-10 inside 4:30 to play. After Hanway beat away an attempt from Farrell, the Captains went down the other end of the field and secured possession with a timeout at the 12:49 mark. The Red Devils would try to run out the clock, but a turnover caused by Aidan Wheeler resulted in Miller burying the rock to tie the game with just 22-seconds left. After McKee claimed the following faceoff
Sam Bunten had a look at cage at the 14:56 mark, but Hanway shut the door to force overtime.
In the extra period, CNU won the opening draw and went down with a chance to win the game, however Brendes was blocked by the DC backline. At the other end, Bunten was denied once again by Hanway, while both Cook and Auslander sailed offerings wide of Brandau. Unfortunately, for the Devils a miscue on the offensive end let the Captains get out in transition and allowed Cook to hit the back of the net for the winner.
Red Devil Leaders
Goals – Farrell, Porter and Schluter (2)
Assists – Isaacson (2)
Groundballs – McKee (9), Karetsos (8)
Saves – Brandau (10)
Captain Leaders
Goals – Cook and Miller (3)
Assists – Young and Miller (2)
Groundballs – Cabaniss (7), Fitzgerald (5), Widhelm (4)
Saves – Hanway (15)
Bright Future
Head Coach David Webster and his staff will now turn their attention to the 2024 campaign where a talented returning group and a healthy influx of new players will look to bring the Red and White back to the NCAA Tournament.
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