LE MOYNE CAPTURES 3RD NATIONAL TITLE WITH
DRAMATIC 6-5 VICTORY OVER MERCYHURST
Le Moyne College Sports Information
Baltimore, MD –In front of 22,778 at M&T Bank Stadium,
the Le Moyne Dolphins captured their 3rd National Championship and
second consecutive title by defeating Mercyhurst College in
dramatic fashion.
Junior Mike McDonald (Latham, NY / Shaker), the game’s Most
Outstanding Player for the second consecutive year, dodged from the
sideline to score the game-winner with one second remaining to lift
the Dolphins to a 6-5 victory.
The Dolphins notched the first goal of the day, 36 seconds into
the game as junior Alex Bily (Syracuse, NY / West Genesee) ripped
the nets from ten yards out to give Le Moyne an early 1-0
advantage. A cutting McDonald poured in the second goal of the day
on a feed from Brian Welch (Ithaca, NY / Ithaca) to push the lead
to 2-0.
Mercyhurst notched their first goal of the game as Bryon Lindner
snuck a ball past Jared Corcoran (Concord, NH / Concord) with 7:13
remaining in the first quarter. The Lakers tied the score at 2-2
with 40 seconds remaining as Scott Janssen poured in a goal from a
feed from Mike Bartlett.
The Lakers would take their first lead of the afternoon at the
12:21 mark in the second quarter as Mike Thon would net a goal from
point-blank range to take a 3-2 advantage.
Blake Gale (LaFayette, NY / LaFayette) tied the score at 3-3,
dodging past a Mercyhurst defender and threading the needle from a
sharp angle. After a number of stellar defensive plays and tough
goaltending, the Dolphins and Lakers were knotted up at 3-3 after
30 minutes.
The Lakers would notch the first goal of the second half on
Janssen’s behind-the-back goal for his second tally of the
day. Matt Cassalia (Camilus, NY / West Genesee) would bull-doze his
way to the cage to net Le Moyne’s fourth goal and tie the
score 4-4.
Mercyhurst would strike back quickly to regain a one goal
advantage as David Osier scored on an assist from Mike Thon with
6:28 remaining in the 3rd quarter. The remainder of the quarter was
scoreless and the Lakers took a 5-4 lead heading into the final 15
minutes of play.
Le Moyne would open the fourth quarter with a goal from Brian Cost
(Camilus, NY / West Genesee) off a feed from Bily to tie the game
at 5-5. The game remained deadlocked at 5-5 for until the final
seconds. McDonald would take the ball outside the restraining box
with just seven seconds following a Mercyhurst time-out. He would
dodge to the cage and fire a shot past Laker goalie Jason
Lashomb.
Corcoran recorded eight saves in the game to improve his career
record to 61-3 and finishes his career as the program’s
leader in goals against average and wins. Lashomb registered five
saves for the Lakers.
With the victory, Le Moyne’s senior class graduated as the
program’s most decorated. In four seasons, they have won 63
games, while only dropping three contests. They will leave the
program with three National Championship rings and four conference
tournament titles to their credit.
Le Moyne 6, Mercyhurst 5
Le Moyne 2 1 1 2 6
Mercyhurst 2 1 2 0 5
Le Moyne Scoring: Mike McDonald 2-0, Alex Bily 1-1, Brian Cost
1-0, Matt Cassalia 1-0, Brian Welch 0-1. Saves: Jared Corcoran
(8).
Mercyhurst Scoring: Scott Janssen 2-0, Mike Thon 1-1, David Osier
1-0, Bryon Lindner 1-0, Mike Bartlett 0-2, Adam Mulherin 0-1.
Saves: Jason Lashomb (5).
