Wingate, N.C. – The third-ranked Lenoir-Rhyne Men's Lacrosse Team (16-1) advanced to the 2018 South Atlantic Conference Championship game with a 14-7 win over Queens (9-7) in the semifinals on Friday morning at Graham Gill Field. The Bears are the top seed in the tournament while the Royals are seeded fourth. Lenoir-Rhyne ran its winning streak to 12 games as well.
INSIDE THE MATCHUP:
Final: No. 3 Lenoir-Rhyne 14, Queens 7
Records: Lenoir-Rhyne (16-1), Queens (9-7)
Location: Graham Gill Field | Wingate, N.C.
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STATS OF THE GAME:
• Trailing by a 3-2 score early in the second period, Lenoir-Rhyne took control by reeling off four straight goals before intermission. Lenoir-Rhyne junior midfielder
Eric Dickinson (Charlotte, N.C.) led the way with five goals including the game-winner.
• Junior attacker
Joe Buduo (Shrewsbury, Mass.) added three scores for the Bears, who also went on a 6-0 run in the third stanza and finished with clear advantages in both shots taken (54-35) and ground balls (40-30).
• In goal, Lenoir-Rhyne senior
Ryan Crompton (Frederick, Md.) earned the win after making 16 saves while Queens' Anthony Valenza (Mount Airy, Md.) suffered the loss despite stopping an impressive 25 shots. The Royals' David Byrne (Victoria, British Columbia, CANADA) finished with two goals and an assist in the losing effort.
BEYOND THE BOX SCORE:
• Lenoir-Rhyne will be looking to capture its second league regular season championship in school history. The Bears won the SAC Championship Tournament in 2016.
• Buduo now has a league-leading 58 goals in addition to 84 points, both school single-season records.
• Lenoir-Rhyne, who is also ranked No. 1 in this week's NCAA Division II South Regional rankings, is 39-4 in its last 43 games.
• The Bears are 2-0 against the Royals this year and have outscored Queens by a 38-15 margin in those contests.
UP NEXT:
Lenoir-Rhyne will compete in the 2018 South Atlantic Conference Men's Lacrosse Championship on Sunday against the winner of second-seeded Wingate (9-5) and third-seeded Lincoln Memorial (14-3) on Sunday afternoon beginning at 1:00 p.m., on the campus of Wingate University.
