Men’s Lacrosse Advances to The CAC Title Game

Not to be outdone by the Frostburg State University baseball team, the men’s lacrosse team is eyeing its own CAC title as it won the semi-final game  7-6 against Mary Washington.

This season the Bobcats dominated their competition finishing the season with a record of 16-2 which placed them in the 2^nd seed of the tournament. Being the second seed gave the team a bye for the first round and allowed the team the chance to rest and evaluate their opponent, which ended up being Mary Washington after they defeated Christopher Newport.

The two teams went back and forth for much of the game. By the end of the first quarter, Mary Washington had the lead. The Eagles came out the gate strong as they scored the first points of the game when Attacker Miles Davis (So.) scored off of an assist from J.D. West (Sr.). The Bobcats would answer with a goal from Tate Rolland (Jr.) late in the first quarter. To close out the quarter, Mary Washington would score their second goal when Miles Davis assisted Greg Smith (Sr.) with just 12 seconds left on the clock.

In the second quarter the roles were reversed as this time the Bobcats would score two goals and Mary Washington was limited to just one. About halfway through the second, Midfielder Ethan Aikin (Fr.) would score his first and only goal of the game, tying the game at two apiece. Shortly after, the Eagles answered with a goal from Jack Craver (So.) which would be his first of two on the day. With two minutes left in the game, Blake Grudzein (Jr.) would score off of an assist from Greg Bourne (Sr.), which once again tied the game.

The third quarter was the lightest in terms of points scored as both teams only scored one goal each. Quickly in the beginning of the third quarter, Tate Rolland would score for the Bobcats giving them the lead (4-3). With just six seconds remaining in the quarter, Miles Davis would score for the Eagles which tied the game again, this time at 4.

The fourth quarter began just as the third did, with a goal from Tate Rolland. This time however, there would not be any back and forth. The Eagles would go on to take the lead by scoring two goals within one minute. The first was by Jack Carver which was his second for the game and the second was by Jared Krikorian (Sr.). With under six minutes left in the game, the Bobcats mounted a comeback with Chris Rios (Sr.) and Tate Rolland leading the charge. Rios would score his 26^th goal on the season which was followed closely by Rolland scoring his 30^th. The Bobcats held on to their lead and won with a score of 7-6.

Rolland put on a great performance and was the game’s leading scorer with four goals. Behind him, major contributions from Chris Rios, Blake Grudzien, Ethan Aikin, and Tom Kraemer helped propel the Bobcats to victory. The Bobcats will play the Salisbury Seagulls for the CAC title on May 2^nd.