SYRACUSE, N.Y. – The Le Moyne College men's lacrosse team had its 25-game winning streak snapped at the hands of Bryant University after a 5-4 setback in the Northeast-10 Conference finals at the Thomas J. Niland Athletic Complex. The Bulldogs (14-3, 9-1 NE-10) become the first team other than the Dolphins (14-1, 10-0 NE-10) to capture a Northeast-10 Conference crown this millennium. Le Moyne was led by a stingy defensive effort and the play of Doug McIver in goal.
Thirty minutes of first-half action produced only two scores. Gary Crowley netted a goal for Bryant just over a minute into the game but Le Moyne's defense clamped down and held the Bulldogs scoreless for a 32-minute stretch that spanned into the third quarter. The Dolphins netted the equalizer with just under five minutes left in the first quarter. Jack Venditti took a pass from Alex Bily and rocketed the ball past Bryant goalkeeper Michael Kennedy for his fifteenth goal of the campaign.
A scoreless second quarter epitomized the stellar defensive effort of both sides. A Le Moyne defense anchored by Drew Bezek, Tim MacLean, Mike Malone and Marc Cizenski allowed fewer than six goals for the thirteenth time on the season. Bezek, who earned Northeast-10 Conference defensive player of the year hardware after the game, collected six groundballs in the game.
Bryant took a one-goal lead three minutes into the second half when Matt McKeefrey tallied an unassisted score. Le Moyne responded just over a minute later when Venditti scored his second goal of the game on a set-up from Mike McDonald. At the 3:54 mark of the third quarter, the Dolphins grabbed their first lead of the game when Keith Vetter turned a pass from Brian Cost into his tenth goal of the season. A minute later, Brooks Robinson sparked a Le Moyne attack and fed Cost to push the Dolphins ahead, 4-2.
But the Bulldogs responded with a three-goal swing in the fourth quarter to end Le Moyne's reign of eight straight Northeast-10 Conference titles. McKeefrey added his second goal of the game at the 13:29 mark of the fourth quarter to trim the Dolphins' lead to one. With nine minutes remaining, Crowley knotted the game at 4-4 with his second tally of the afternoon. McKeefrey notched the game-winner on his third goal of the day at the 6:29 mark. Bryant's netminder Kennedy stopped a handful of Le Moyne attempts in the final five minutes, including a shot by Cost as time expired.
McIver shined between the pipes for the Dolphins, collecting 11 saves in the contest. Kennedy finished with nine saves for the Bulldogs.
Le Moyne was outshot by an opponent for the first time since their 8-6 victory over C.W. Post on March 15. Bryant controlled 11-of-13 face-offs and forced 20 Le Moyne turnovers.
Several Dolphins accumulated Northeast-10 Conference awards in a post-game ceremony. McDonald, who climbed Le Moyne's all-time scoring charts throughout the regular season, was named Northeast-10 Conference Player of the Year. He joins Jim Nee ('97) and Travis Tarr ('05 and '06) as the only Dolphins to collect the award. Bezek was picked as the conference's top defender and head coach Dan Sheehan joined Merrimack's Michael Morgan as the Northeast-10 Conference co-coach of the year. Sheehan has been tabbed as the conference's top coach seven times during his career on the Heights.
Joining McDonald and Bezek on the Northeast-10 Conference first team was Bily, Malone, Nick Gatto and Brian Griffin. Cost, MacLean and McIver were chosen to the conference's second team.
Le Moyne, ranked No. 1 in the USILA Division II Poll since the season's first week, will take on Bryant University for the third time this season in the 2008 Division II Final Four. The Dolphins will host the Bulldogs on May 17 or May 18. Earlier this season, Le Moyne knocked off Bryant, 8-3, at the Thomas J. Niland Athletic Complex. The winner will advance to the Division II National Championship on May 25 at Gillette Stadium in Foxborough, Mass.
Michael Bersani – Sports Information Assistant
