FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Dolphins Double-Up Lenoir-Rhyne on Sunday.
EAST HARTFORD, Conn. – Championship Most Outstanding Player Matt Hutchings scored a career-high six goals to lead the top-ranked Le Moyne College men's lacrosse team to the 2021 NCAA Division II National Championship with a 12-6 victory over second-ranked Lenoir-Rhyne University on Sunday afternoon at Rentschler Field.
The Dolphins, who finished the season with a 15-0 record, claim their sixth national championship, all of which have come in the last 17 complete seasons. The six national titles are the second-most in Division II history and are the most in Division II since the championship was reinstituted in 1993. The Dolphins are the sixth undefeated national champion in Division II history, four of which are Le Moyne.
Will Canata got Lenoir-Rhyne on the scoreboard first at the 13:56 mark off a pass from Eric Dickinson.
Le Moyne answered back with the next two goals to take its first lead of the game. Hutchings tied the score at one with 9:19 left off an assist by redshirt junior midfielder Zach Pierce. Junior do-everything midfielder Colin Sypek put the Dolphins up 2-1 with 5:25 left with his 15th goal of the season.
Lenoir-Rhyne answers back eight seconds later to kickstart a three-goal run. Off the faceoff following Sypek's goal, Zach Bodeau scooped up the ball and raced up field before sending a pass to Dickinson, who fired in his 47th goal of the season. Dickinson netted his second goal of the quarter with 1:07 left to put the Bears back in front. He then opened the scoring in the second quarter at the 13:23 mark off a pass from Myles Moffat.
Le Moyne responded with a three-goal run of its own to take the lead back. Hutchings got the Dolphins within 4-3 with 9:57 left by curling around the left side of the goal after collecting a feed from graduate student attackman Jake Nelson. Just 1:13 later, Hutchings tallied his 20th goal of the season to knot the score at four apiece. With the goal, he passed Gold Wave Hall of Fame member Jim Nee '99 and Justin Kesselring '18 for sixth on the program's career goals list. Senior midfielder Ben McCreary put the Dolphins back in front with 6:33 until halftime with his 25th goal of the campaign.
Dickinson registered his fourth goal of the game and 50th of the season with 4:21 remaining off a pass from Bryce Reece to even the score at five apiece, where it remained going into halftime.
Following almost seven minutes of scoreless action to start the third quarter, the Dolphins exploded for five goals over the next seven minutes. Hutchings ignited the run with his fourth goal of the game at the 8:12 mark after taking a pass from Pierce in an extra-man situation. With the goal, he tied Kevin Kelly '15 for the fifth-most in the program's history with 111. Just over two and one-half minutes later, senior attackman Devin Andrews danced to the front of the crease to score after taking a pass from the left from Pierce. Another 2:48 later, Pierce corralled a loose ball near the edge of the crease and deposited his eighth goal of the year to make it 8-5 with 2:46 left in the quarter. Just 35 seconds later, Hutchings fired home his fifth goal of the game off a feed from senior midfielder Evan Kelly. Pierce got the Dolphins into double digits with another unassisted tally with 1:14 left in the quarter.
The Dolphins continued their run with the first two goals of the fourth quarter. Hutchings opened the scoring at the 12:21 mark with his career-best sixth goal of the game after receiving a pass from Pierce. With the goal, Hutchings passed Gold Wave Hall of Fame member Brandon Spillett '05 for fourth on the career goals list with his 113th. The six goals by Hutchings are the second-most by a Dolphin in the program's 10 national championship game appearances, trailing just the seven by Spillett in the 2004 game (also on May 30), and are the third-most by a Dolphin in an NCAA tournament game (Mike McDonald scored seven in the 2006 semifinals).
McCreary completed Le Moyne's scoring with 5:58 remaining by stinging the upper right corner of the net off a feed from Pierce. Pierce's five assists in the game are the most by a Dolphin in the 10 title game appearances and tie Hutchings from last Sunday for the most by a Dolphin in an NCAA tournament game, while his seven points trail just Spillett's eight from 2004 for the most in a title game and are tied with McDonald for the second-most in an NCAA tournament game.
Lenoir-Rhyne completed the game's scoring with 4:14 left as Toron Eccleston scored from the crease off a pass from Moffat.
Redshirt junior goalkeeper Frank Delia registered a career-high 15 saves, including six in the fourth quarter, to earn his ninth win of the season between the pipes. Senior defenseman Connor Haims sophomore defenseman Nick Fraterrigo and Sypek each caused two turnovers to lead the defensive effort in holding the nation's second-highest scoring offense to just one goal in the second half.
Noah Johnson suffered just his second loss of the season for the Bears after posting 12 saves, including five in the second quarter.
-Release provided by Le Moyne Athletic Communications
ABOUT THE NE10
In its 40th anniversary season, the NE10 is an association of 14 diverse institutions serving student-athletes across 24 NCAA Division II sports. Together we build brilliant futures by embracing the journey of every student-athlete.
Each year, 4,500 of those student-athletes compete in conference championships in 24 sports, making the NE10 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 NE10 is proud of its comprehensive program and the experience it provides student-athletes.
