FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
May 29, 2016
Highlight Video Courtesy of Le Moyne College
PHILADELPHIA, Pa. - The nation's top defense held the nation's top offense scoreless in the second half as Le Moyne defeated Limestone, 8-4, in the NCAA National Championship game on Sunday afternoon at Lincoln Financial Field.
The Dolphins, who finished the season with a 20-0 record, claim their fifth national championship, all of which have come in the last 13 seasons.
The five national titles are tied for the most in Division II since the contest was reinstituted in 1993. The Dolphins are the fifth undefeated national champion (three of which are Le Moyne) in Division II history and the 20 wins are the most by an undefeated team, besting the 18 by the 2006 Dolphins.
USILA First Team All-America defender Brendan Entenmann was named the championship game's Most Outstanding Player after holding first team all-American Kyle Rhatigan, who entered the game with 100 points on 58 goals and 42 assists, without a shot or point.
Le Moyne opened the game's scoring 2:31 into the contest as sophomore midfielder Bailey Wilkinson fired home his ninth goal of the season. Less than three minutes later, graduate student midfielder/attackman Matt Taylor registered his 28th goal of the year after taking a pass from senior attackman/midfielder Logan Thomas in an extra-man situation with 9:45 left in the opening quarter.
Limestone, which entered the game averaging a nation-best 20 goals per game, answered with three straight goals over a span of 11:37.
Jordan Saunderson, who teamed with Thomas to win a NJCAA National Championship at Onondaga Community College in 2013, got the Saints on the scoreboard with 5:01 left in the first quarter after taking a pass in transition from Anthony Quiles.
Just 47 seconds later, Saunderson found the back of the net again after collecting a pass from USILA Player and Midfielder of the Year Mike Messenger. Ben Higgins gave Limestone its first lead of the game with his 23rd goal of the season with 8:24 left in the second quarter.
Taylor evened the score for the second time with an unassisted goal off a dodge down the left alley with 5:02 remaining in the half.
The Saints regained the lead just 67 seconds later as Messenger tallied his 60th goal of the season, but that would be Limestone's final goal of the game.
Neither team was able to put a shot on goal over the final 3:55 of the half as the Saints took a 4-3 lead into the intermission.
Senior attackman Mike Jenkins scored the only goal of the third quarter with 9:13 left in the period to knot the score at four apiece. Jenkins tallied his 18th goal of the season after taking a pass in a man-up situation from Taylor.
Le Moyne tallied four goals in the final quarter to record the victory. Thomas gave the Dolphins the lead for good with 12:08 remaining following a pass from junior midfielder Brian Rogers. Only 55 seconds later, Jenkins registered his 64th career goal off another pass from Rogers.
After redshirt senior goalkeeper Alex Krawec made a save on a shot from the front of the crease with 4:27 left, Thomas netted his 47th goal of the year off a pass in transition from junior defenseman Dylan Borkowski. The 47 goals are the second-most by a Dolphin in a season in the program's history and are just one shy of Randy Burnett's program record of 48 set in 1988.
The goal also gave Thomas 64 points on the season, which is tied for the ninth-most by a Dolphin in a single season. The assist marked the first point of Borkowski's 37-game career. Freshman midfielder Dan Entenmann completed the game's scoring with 1:58 remaining after coming around the left side of the goal from behind the cage.
Krawec, who was named the USILA Ensign C. Markland Kelly, Jr. Award recipient as the Most Outstanding Goalkeeper earlier in the day, registered seven saves between the pipes, including five in the second half, to earn his Division II-record 20th victory of the season. Patrick Sheridan recorded 14 saves in the loss for the Saints.
COMMENTS FROM THE GAME:
Le Moyne Head Coach Dan Sheehan: (On the team's performance)
"For our defense to do what they did, not only against Mike but an offense that's scoring 18, 19 goals a game. That's who we are. That's who we are."
(On preparing his team for the season)
"So I think we try to give the kids a real world, that and I think we talk an awful lot -- we coach for May. If it's not acceptable in May, it's not okay. And that's starting first fall ball practice. They probably get sick of hearing me tell stories about opportunities to be here in Philadelphia. But I think in 19 years I think I have a pretty good idea of what it takes and hats off to them that they listen. I think probably the thing I'm most proud of this year, we're pretty damn good. And I don't think we've played our best lacrosse yet."
Le Moyne's Brendan Entenmann: (On the Dolphins being battle-tested)
"If you look at New York Tech, we weren't, we hadn't been trailing a team in the fourth quarter the entire season. I think that was a really important moment for us, where we could face that kind of adversity towards the end of the game where we really need a goal. We really need a stop on the other end. So specifically that game. But again Merrimack is a great team that we played, and just playing high-powered teams during the season I think really prepared us well for this matchup today."
Le Moyne's Alex Krawec: (On losing to Limestone in the title game previously)
"I mean, it really does stick with you every day, with me. Coach was sitting in this chair last year and we're hearing Limestone, being over there, that's a moment you'll never forget. It stuck with us the whole entire offseason, even through summer, every sprint we do, every lift we do, every practice we have, this is what we have in mind; the end goal is to beat Limestone and to get back here."
Additional reporting for this release provided by the Le Moyne athletics communications staff
ABOUT THE NORTHEAST-10
The Northeast-10 Conference is an association of 15 NCAA Division II colleges and universities located in New England and New York that is committed to supporting balanced academic and athletic opportunities for more than 6,500 student-athletes.
Each year, 4,500 of those student-athletes compete in conference championships in 24 sports, making the NE-10 the largest DII conference in the country in terms of sport sponsorship. Leading the way in the classroom, on the field and within the community, the Northeast-10 is proud of its comprehensive program and the experience it provides student-athletes.
