ROCHESTER, N.Y. - They say sports are filled with moments that will never be forgotten and for the 11th-ranked Dickinson men's lacrosse team they added another memorable moment on Sunday afternoon as the Red and White clinched their first-ever berth in the Division III National Championship Game with an impressive 12-10 win over the third-ranked Rochester Institute of Technology in the Seminals of the NCAA Tournament at Tiger Stadium.
- Dickinson was under pressure early, but goalie Rocco Bognet was up to the task turning away both Clifford Gaston and Michael Finneran in the first two minutes.
- Then, the visitors got their chance with Capp Reynolds causing a turnover by David Charney leading to a chance from Carter Wilmot that went wide before Charlie Baughan buried the rock.
- Off the ensuing faceoff, the Tigers responded with Chase Bruno hitting the net, but Baughan had another answer 26-seconds later to make it 2-1 with 9:21 left.
- Over the next five minutes neither team could muster a shot until Bognet shutdown Bruno which sent Baughan back down the field after getting a pass from Will Single. He completed his hat trick by solving Alex Zborowski again.
- Dickinson made it 4-1 heading to the second when Jamie Book stripped Ryan Bullock resulting in Reynolds getting the rock up to Book who found Ethan Gess for the strike with a second left (4-1).
- With just over a minute gone the Red and White went man-up thanks to a holding penalty leading to a shot from Luke Whalen that went wide, but Gess then hooked up with Landen Hyatt for the 5-1 lead.
- After each defense ended a possession by causing a turnover, RIT worked themselves back into the game with markers from Seth Grottenthaler and Ethan Harkins making it 5-3 at the 9:39 mark.
- Dickinson would record two of the final three shots of the frame with Hyatt banging a pipe and Tommy Baldini being denied by Zborowski, while at the other end Bognet told Gaston "NO" to end the period.
- The Devils tried to add onto their lead right away as Ben Trucksess claimed the faceoff leading to chances for Whalen and Gess which called upon Zborowski to make one stop.
- RIT then rode the momentum of that save to a pair of goals for Gaston to level the score at 5-5 with 2:37 gone.
- Following a faceoff win for Trucksess, Sam Bunten tracked down the groundball and got it up to Whalen for the finish to take the lead back, but Harkins answered back a little over a minute later (6-6).
- Dickinson then took control with back-to-back faceoff victories for Trucksess setting the stage for tallies by Gess (Preston Boyd assist) and Ramsey Huggins to make it 8-6. Despite the Tigers taking the next draw, Evan Karetsos knocked the ball free from Nate Senez allowing Baughan to connect with Hyatt for a 9-6 edge with 5:49 to play.
- The offense just kept on flowing over the final four-plus minutes as Bruno scored twice for RIT, while at the other end Hyatt (Matt Thurston assist) and Ethan Ferrant (Hyatt assist) struck for the Devils to hold an 11-8 lead into the fourth.
- Zborowski tried to give his team life to open things up as he shutdown Whalen leading to Ian Dinga cashing in with four minutes gone.
- Both keepers then went to work each making two stops with Bognet denying the pair of Bruno and Gaston, while Zborowski knocked aside offerings from Baughan and Boyd as the quarter hit the halfway point.
- At the 7:33 mark, RIT sent their home fans into a frenzy when Dinga cut the deficit down to 11-10. The Tigers then claimed the next faceoff and posted three straight shots, but two missed the mark and Bognet notched another save to preserve the lead.
- That seemed to break the Tigers as DC recorded seven of the game's final eight shots which included another marker from Baughan to set the 12-10 final and continue to make history for the Red and White.
- Goals - Baughan (4), Hyatt (3), Gess (2), Ferrant, Huggins and Whalen (1)
- Assists - Baughan, Book, Boyd, Gess, Hyatt and Thurston (1)
- Groundballs - Trucksess (9), Reynolds (6), Karetsos (5), Single (3)
- Caused Turnovers - Karetsos (4), Book and Ferrant (3)
- Faceoffs - Trucksess (13-21), Ryan Backus (0-3)
- Saves - Bognet (9)
- Goals - Bruno (3), Dinga, Gaston and Harkins (2)
- Assists - Finneran and Senez (2)
- Groundballs - Gaston and Leahy (4), Farrell and French (3)
- Caused Turnovers - Fletcher (3), Sanderson (2)
- Faceoffs - French (7-14), Farrell (4-10)
- Saves - Zborowski (9)
- Dickinson (17-5) will attempt to finish off the historic season with a flourish Next Sunday night, May 25th at 7pm when they will take on either Tufts University or Bowdoin College for the Division III National Championship at Gillette Stadium in Foxborough, Massachusetts!
