SYRACUSE, N.Y. – The Le Moyne College men's lacrosse team, ranked No. 1 in the most recent USILA Division II Poll, knocked off St. Michael's, 16-5, in the Northeast-10 Conference Semifinal action at the Thomas J. Niland Athletic Complex. The Dolphins (14-0, 10-0 NE-10) advance to the Northeast-10 Conference Finals and host Bryant University on Sunday at 2 p.m. The Purple Knights (8-7, 6-4 NE-10) were led by Nate Noble's pair of goals in their season finale.

Le Moyne and St. Michael's traded goals in the game's first five minutes before the Dolphins rattled off five straight tallies to build a 6-1 advantage. Brian Cost, Nick Gatto and Mike McDonald each scored a pair of first quarter goals.

Noble scored back-to-back goals for the Purple Knights late in the first quarter and early in the second quarter to trim the Dolphin lead to 6-3. But Le Moyne closed the half with a trio of goals thanks to a score from Brian Welch and a pair of tallies from Jack Venditti.

The Dolphins pushed their lead to 10-3 early in the third quarter when McDonald fed Venditti for his third goal of the contest. The senior-to-freshman connection accounted for three straight Le Moyne scores in a span that stretched from the second to the third quarter. Peter Pikulski cut the Dolphins' lead to six with a third quarter tally but Welch countered with his second goal of the day to push Le Moyne's lead to 11-4.

St. Michael's added a goal in the opening seconds of the fourth quarter from the stick of Charlie Niznansky but Le Moyne ended the game with a five-goal attack. Cost contributed a pair of fourth quarter goals while Alex Bily, Tom Donahue and Markus Fallico each knotted scores late in the game for the Dolphins.

Le Moyne edged St. Michael's in the face-off circle, taking 22-of-25 for the game. The Dolphins managed 61 shots, collected 42 ground balls and converted on 4-of-7 extra man opportunities.

Jeff Hannon stopped 16 shots between the pipes for the Purple Knights while Doug McIver collected six saves and Bay Stoker stopped a shot for the Dolphins.

Cost paced Le Moyne with four goals and Venditti finished with a hat trick. McDonald accumulated six points thanks to a pair of goals and four assists.

Le Moyne advances to the Northeast-10 Conference Finals where they will host Bryant University in Sunday action at 2 p.m. The Dolphins knocked off the Bulldogs, 8-3, earlier this season.

Michael Bersani - Sports Information Assistant