Phillylacrosse.com, Posted 5/13/23
From Press Releases
The No. 14 Swarthmore College men’s lacrosse team suffered a heartbreaking overtime loss to Grove City, 18-17, in the second round of the NCAA Tournament on Saturday afternoon. The Garnet made history this season as they ended the 2023 campaign with a program-best 14 wins and their first NCAA appearance since 1984.
Von Mabbs tallied a team-high seven points on four goals and three assists to lead the way for Swarthmore’s offense. Jackson Brosgol, Carter Strauch and Clay Almgren also collected hat tricks with three-goal performances. Almgren also added three assists in a well-rounded performance for the first-year standout.
Senior midfielder Brett Gladstone fired in a man-up goal 2:51 into overtime Saturday afternoon to lift the Wolverines to an 18-17 victory over No. 14 Swarthmore in the second round of the NCAA Division III Championship Tournament, held at Washington & Lee University’s Wilson Field.
It is Grove City’s first-ever NCAA Tournament victory in men’s lacrosse. The win also sends Grove City (11-8) into Sunday’s third round, where the Wolverines will face host Washington & Lee. W&L topped Centre in Saturday’s lidlifter, 21-10.
Gladstone’s overtime game-winner capped a frantic fourth-quarter comeback for Grove City, which trailed 17-14 with 2:24 remaining in regulation.
Freshman attack Kobi Bui (Souderton) began the comeback when he scored an unassisted man-up goal with 2:24 left. Sixty-eight seconds later, Gladstone scored an unassisted goal that cut the Garnet’s lead to 17-16.
Grove City won only 10 of 39 faceoffs in the game but freshman Sean Mahoney (Fort Myers, Fla./Canterbury) kept the Wolverines’ hopes alive by winning the subsequent faceoff. Junior midfielder Luke Jayne (Vero Beach, Fla./Saint Andrew’s) tied the game with one minute left by scoring an unassisted goal. Jayne’s goal, his second of the day, capped a seven-goal fourth quarter for Grove City.
Mahoney also won the next faceoff, giving the Wolverines a chance to win in regulation. However, Gladstone’s potential game-winner hit the post with one second left, sending the teams to the four-minute, sudden death overtime.
York 18, Cabrini 9
The Cavaliers fought hard, and despite a strong third quarter effort, fell in a second round contest to the No. 10 Spartans at Tufts University’s Bello Field.
The Cavaliers opened the contest with a goal from freshman and Atlantic East Conference first-teamer Connor Herraiz at the 12:49 mark to take a 1-0 edge. The Spartans then quickly took a 2-1 lead, but AEC Player of the Year Dillon McManus notched his 58th goal of the year to tie it at 2-2. The two squads went back-and-forth for the remainder of the first period, but York held a 5-4 lead headed to the second. In the second, York took control of the match as the 10th-ranked Spartans rattled off six goals and took an 11-4 lead into intermission.
In the third, the Cavs still had some fight left in them as Austin Bolton and McManus went back-to-back at the 7:50 and 7:15 marks, respectively. Griffin Ganster and Herraiz ended the period with back-to-back goals to make it a single-digit deficit for Cabrini at 17-8. In the fourth, defense reared its head and the Cavs and Spartans only combined for two goals as Cabrini could not overcome the York lead and fell 18-9.
McManus tallied three goals on the day with two assists for five points to lead the offense. Herraiz had five points on two goals and two assists to run his assists streak to 19 games.
The Cavaliers finished the 2023 season with a 14-5 record and won their 22nd overall conference championship in program history. The Cavs also boasted 10 players on the All-Conference team and swept the league’s major awards.
Women’s D3
Roger Williams 19, Cabrini 15
In what was a high-scoring affair, the Cavaliers dropped their 2023 NCAA tournament contest to Roger Williams University at Wesleyan University’s Smith Field.
The two squads went goal-for-goal in the first period as Roger Williams scored first at the 13:37 mark, but Maggie Cella (Holy Spirit, NJ) responded with a goal for Cabrini a minute later and the back-and-forth contest began. By the 4:28 mark, the Hawks grabbed a 6-3 lead but goals from Marissa Mullan (Interboro), Neve Murphy (Camden Catholic-NJ), and Shea Neary (Archbishop Carroll) knotted the match at six apiece after one quarter of action. The back-and-forth action continued into the second until Olivia Little (Springfield-Delco) scored twice to put Cabrini up 9-7 with 11:00 left. The Haws knotted the contest at 10 apiece with 2:26 remaining but, Neary found the back of the net with under 2:00 left to give the Cavs an 11-10 lead headed to the break.
Out of the intermission, Cabrini led off the third period outscoring the Hawks 3-1 to take a 14-11 lead with 9:22 left, but four straight goals from RWU led to a 15-14 deficit for the Cavs entering the final period. In the fourth, the Hawks took control of the match as RWU outscored Cabrini 4-1 in the final period to win 19-15 and end the Cavaliers five-game win streak and their 2023 season.
Little, the Atlantic East Player of the Year, led the offense on the day with four goals and three assists for seven points. Neary tallied six points on four goals and two assists while Murphy and Pace each recorded two goals.
The Cavaliers finished the 2023 season with a 14-6 record and won their fourth straight Atlantic East title.