Syracuse, N.Y. – Redshirt senior midfielder Zach Pierce (Gansevoort, N.Y./Schuylerville/Onondaga C.C.) registered six points to lead the third-ranked and second-seeded Le Moyne College men's lacrosse team to a 15-11 come-from-behind victory over 13th-ranked and third-seeded Saint Anselm College in the semifinals of the Northeast-10 Conference Championships on Wednesday afternoon at Ted Grant Field.

With the victory, the Dolphins advance to the NE10 Championship game for the 20th time in 25 years in the conference and will take on fourth-ranked and top-seeded Adelphi University on Saturday at 4:00 p.m.

"Our guys showed a ton of poise tonight," said head coach Dan Sheehan. "I'm proud of their efforts on both ends of the field. Nico Mattia got us extra possessions in the second half that allowed us to pull away."

Saint Anselm scored the game's first goal at the 13:01 mark as Nick Larsen tallied his 17th goal of the season.

Pierce got the Dolphins on the scoreboard with 11:29 left in the quarter off a pass from graduate student attackman Carter Collins (Prior Lake, Minn./Prior Lake/Lindenwood).

The Hawks countered with the next three goals for their largest lead of the game. Jack Andrews put his team in front with 10:14 remaining. He scored again 3:43 later for a two-goal advantage. Thomas Ackil capped the burst with his 10th goal of the season with 2:16 to go.

Le Moyne scored twice in 57 seconds to cut its deficit to one. Graduate student midfielder Ben McCreary (Cicero, N.Y./Christian Brothers Academy) scored his 18th goal of the season at the 1:13 mark off a dish from senior midfielder Colin Sypek (Lake Worth, Fla./American Heritage School (Delray Beach)). The two reversed roles with 16 ticks left in the period.

Saint Anselm regained its three-goal lead with the first two goals of the second quarter. Nick Larsen scored the first with 13:15 left in the period and then Joe Lombardi scored in transition with 9:31 to go.

The Dolphins answered with back-to-back goals to get back within one. Graduate student attackman Devin Andrews (Canandaigua, N.Y./Canandaigua Academy/Stony Brook) finished off a feed from senior midfielder Sam Lambert (Victor, N.Y./Victor) just before the possession clock expired with 6:19 left in the quarter. Andrews scored again at the 4:59 mark off a dish from Pierce.

Chase Lilly pushed the margin back to two with his ninth goal of the year with 2:47 left.

Pierce ended the scoring in the half with 1:30 left to get the Dolphins within 7-6 at the intermission.

Le Moyne scored the first three goals of the third quarter over the opening 2:48 to take the lead. McCreary tied the score at seven with his 19th goal of the campaign with 13:37 left while absorbing a slash by the Hawks. Just 43 seconds later, Collins scored in the extra-man situation after collecting a pass from Pierce, who scored his 27th goal of the campaign another 42 seconds later.

The Hawks took advantage of a Le Moyne penalty to get back within one as Colin Mulvey scored off a dish from Noah Larsen in an extra-man opportunity with 9:02 left.

Le Moyne regained its two-goal lead at the 7:20 mark as junior long-stick midfielder Nick Noel (Fulton, N.Y./G. Ray Bodley) scored his first goal of the season in transition.

Saint Anselm scored twice in the first 6:30 of the fourth quarter to knot the score at 10. Mulvey scored at the 13:19 mark off a dish from Sean Tomaszewski and then Noah Larsen scored from the edge of the crease following a sleek pass from brother Nick with 8:30 remaining.

The Dolphins took the lead for good with the next two goals and five of the last six. Senior midfielder John Bergan (Camillus, N.Y./West Genesee) put the Dolphins up with his 14th goal of the year at the 6:57 mark off a feed from Collins. Just 62 seconds later, Andrews found the back of the net off a dish from Sypek.

Noah Larsen got the Hawks back within one with 5:17 left, but that would mark their final goal of the game.

Pierce started Le Moyne's 3-0 game-closing run with his 28th goal of the year with 4:01 left. Lambert scored with his facemark 53 seconds later following a pass from Andrews. Collins ended the game's scoring with an extra-man tally with 1:38 left.

Graduate student goalkeeper Frank Delia (Baldwinsville, N.Y./C.W. Baker/Onondaga C.C.), who was named the NE10 Goalkeeper of the Year on Tuesday, registered 13 saves to earn his 14th win of the year. CJ Hart, last year's NE10 Goalkeeper of the Year, took the loss after allowing nine goals in the second half without making a save.