GREENSBURG, Pa. – The call on-air put it best as No. 2 seed Mercyhurst ‘exorcised its Seton Hill demon’ to put away any recent series frustration in the Great Midwest Athletic Conference Men’s Lacrosse Championship game on Saturday.
The Lakers won by a final count of 14-10 against their rival as both associate members of the conference found out they made the NCAA Championship field on Sunday.
After beating No. 3 seed Lake Erie in the semifinals, Mercyhurst was set for the title rematch against Seton Hill for the third consecutive season.
SHU had taken care of business vs. No. 4 Walsh in the opening round of the playoff bracket.
Led by four goals from Nathan Grenon, the Lakers finally solved the puzzle that had befuddled their program in recent history since joining the Great Midwest.
Mercyhurst enjoyed a five-goal outburst in the fourth and final period as the defense clamped down and conceded just one goal to its opponent in the final 15 minutes on the field.
The two teams went into halftime tied up at 7-7, the deadlock featuring well-played action on both sides of the field with many all-conference performers and individual award winners on display for the fans to watch.
Each team scored two goals in the third period, setting up a major showdown still all square at 9-9. First, it was Jacob Emerson putting away the go-ahead goal with 9:15 left in regulation. Then, Smith-Wilcox put his team up 11-9 just a few seconds after even with Seton Hill winning the faceoff.
In order, Dan Kritkausky, Dom Perna and Pipher, found creases in the Griffins’ defense to send Seton Hill reeling in the final five minutes and change. Hofseth scored with a minute left, but the deficit was just a little too much to overcome for the Griffins.
All-conference attackers Devin Pipher and Caleb Kuber each contributed to the offense for Mercyhurst while Ben Smith-Wilcox assisted three Lakers goals.
Even the goalkeeper matchup was one to keep an eye on with Mercyhurst’s Hunter Emerson matching wits with Great Midwest Goalkeeper of the Year Max Eismann. Emerson made 11 saves in cage for his 13th victory while Eismann was credited with seven stops.
Ryan Manbeck, Robert Hofseth and Zack Estabrooks each scored a pair of goals for Seton Hill.
Mercyhurst will face Merrimack from the Northeast-10 Conference on Wednesday at home in Erie, PA, for the first-round matchup of the NCAA Championship bracket. Seton Hill heads out to Dobbs Ferry, N.Y., to take on Mercy from the East Coast Conference after making the national semifinals a year ago.