ERIE, Pa. – Only four teams remained in the NCAA Division II Men’s Lacrosse Championship bracket on Sunday as No. 3 Mercyhurst represented the Great Midwest Athletic Conference as an associate member in the North Region.
The Lakers had a chance to be a championship finalist in Hartford, Conn., but just fell short of the golden opportunity with a defeat in the semifinals against No. 1 seeded Le Moyne.
It was a very close 11-9 final against the Dolphins out of the Northeast-10 Conference as Le Moyne advanced to face Lenoir-Rhyne out of the South Region.
The Lakers went further in the national tournament bracket than any other institution, full member or associate, has gone before in the league’s near complete nine years of history.
Mercyhurst was the host of the North Region tournament at Saxon Stadium and advanced into the semis due to a no contest against No. 2 seed Mercy after also receiving an opening round bye.
That meant the Lakers hadn’t played a contest since the conference championship final against Seton Hill back on May 8 and understandably so, may have expected to be a bit rusty taking the field in over two weeks.
First period action was fierce out of the gates but the Lakers had the upper hand as Nicholas Mabe and Nathan Grenon gave the green a 2-0 lead. The Dolphins closed the gap in a hurry with two goals, including the tying one, in less than a three-minute span.
In the second period, Mercyhurst finished the half with the last two goals, including another strike by Grenon, to make it a 5-4 Lakers lead.
Le Moyne went on a stretch of six consecutive goals to take a 10-6 lead before a mini flurry of Mercyhurst made it 10-9 with 8:11 left in regulation. But the Lakers couldn’t put a dent in the Dolphins defense one more time as Jake Nelson’s tally with just over five minutes on the clock would be the final goal recorded.
Mercyhurst went into the championship semis ranked third in Division II and conclude the 2021 spring under Great Midwest Coach of the Year Chris Ryan with a 12-2 overall record.