Lenoir-Rhyne Men’s Lacrosse Wins 2024 SAC Championship
MATTHEWS, N.C. - The Lenoir-Rhyne Men's Lacrosse Team has now won three SAC Tournament Championships in the past four seasons as the Bears defeated No. 1 Limestone, 13-12.
Graduate student and All-Tournament Team member Ryan Duncan scored one of his two goals with 1:47 remaining to push the Bears past the Saints. The Leesburg, Va. native was one of four Bears to score a multi-goal game, which included All-Tournament Team member Donovan Powell, who had a team-high three scores.
Matthew Mancini, who was named the SAC Tournament MVP, went 15-for-26 in the face-off circle for the Bears. It was the seventh time this season that the sophomore won at least 10 face-offs.
At halftime, the Bears were trailing by a two-goal margin, however, LR was firing on all cylinders out of the break with five unanswered goals. The strong surge was able to help the Bears operate from in front for most of the half and avenge their only loss in the regular season.
INSIDE THE MATCHUP
Final: No. 2 Lenoir-Rhyne 13, No. 1 Limestone 12
Records: No. 2 Lenoir-Rhyne (15-1), No. 1 Limestone (16-1)
Location: Matthews, N.C. | Sportsplex at Matthews
STATS OF THE GAME
In addition to Powell's three-goal game and Duncan's two-goal performance, Jonathan Bender and Sloan Steward each got a couple of tallies for the Bears.
Despite not getting a goal, Will Canata tied a team-high four points with four assists. The graduate student had an assist on the game-winning goal.
Thomas Farlow had a defensively-outstanding game for a team-high three caused turnovers. All-Tournament Team member Victor Powell was the only other Bear to have multiple caused turnovers with two.
While the Bears won the shots battle, 43-36, Limestone had more shots on goal. The Saints had 24 compared to the Bears' 22.
The only quarter that LR did not register a double-figure shot total was in the second frame. The Bears only had four shots in that 15-minute window.
Out of the 12 saves that the Bears collected, LR had most of them in clutch time as four were stopped in the fourth quarter. All-Tournament Team member Rob Pensabene made all 12 for the Bears.
Both teams were very solid on the clearances. LR was 20-for-21 throughout the contest while Limestone was 19-for-20.
LR won the ground-ball battle, 31-28. The most impressive quarter for the Bears was in the third when they scooped 14 off the grass.
In what was an incredible physical battle between the Saints and the Bears, there were eight total penalties. LR was penalized five times while Limestone was sent to the box on three occasions.
The Bears could not capitalize on their man-up opportunities, having gone 0-for-3 in the contest. Limestone was 2-for-5 on man-up opportunities.
BEYOND THE BOX SCORE
Despite winning today's match, Limestone leads the all-time series, 10-7.
This was the third-straight season that Limestone and LR met in the SAC Men's Lacrosse Championship. In the 2023 edition, the Saints defeated the Bears, 14-8. In the 2022 edition, LR defeated Limestone, 14-8.
In the four SAC Tournament Championships that LR has won, two of them have come Limestone. The Bears defeated Queens and Wingate in 2021 and 2022, respectively.
LR is 2-0 against Limestone in neutral-site contests. The only other meeting between the two teams in a neutral site was on March 8, 2020, when LR defeated Limestone, 18-16.
Both outcomes between Limestone and LR have been decided by one goal this season. In the March 9 meeting in Gaffney, S.C., the Saints defeated the Bears, 10-9.
UP NEXT: The Lenoir-Rhyne Men's Lacrosse Team will now await to see where its 2024 NCAA Tournament begins. The next edition of the regional rankings will be released on Wednesday, May 1.
