HICKORY, N.C. - The #3 seed Lenoir-Rhyne Men's Lacrosse team led 20-1 at halftime and stormed pass the #6 seeded Lincoln Memorial Railsplitters 24-9 in the SAC Quarterfinals. The Bears will now head to #2 seed Newberry on Wednesday night with a trip to the SAC Championship on the line.
Donovan Powell led the Bears with four goals and an assist while
Morgan Madish had four points (1 g, 3 a).
The 24-goal performance is a new SAC record for the Bears surpassing the 22 goals scored in the 2025 SAC Quarterfinals against Catawba. The Bears also set school records for most points in a game (37) and most face-offs won (31) in a SAC Tournament game today.
INSIDE THE MATCHUP
Final: (3) Lenoir-Rhyne 24, (6) Lincoln Memorial 9
Records: Lenoir-Rhyne (11-3), Lincoln Memorial (8-8)
Location: Hickory, N.C. | Moretz Stadium
STORY OF THE GAME
- This was all LR from the start as the Bears scored the first 7 goals of the game before LMU got on the board.
- The Bears scored nine times in the first quarter and eleven in the second to make it 20-1 at the half.
- LR won 19 of the 20 faceoffs in the opening half, including a 15-15 mark from Matthew Mancini.
- The Railsplitters scored nine second half goals to make it a 15-goal game.
- Caleb Haire, Aidan Lee, Adam Eckenroth, Matt Jones scored second half goals for LR.
STATS OF THE GAME
- Donovan Powell had all four of his goals in the first half on his way to a five point game to lead LR in scoring today.
- Morgan Madish had four points in the opening half with a goal and three assists.
- Fifteen different Bears scored on the day with Powell, Nate Serrano, Cooper Starcke, Owen Scott, Matt Jones, Sloan Steward posting 2+ goals.
- Five different Bears played inside the pipes as the five goalies combined for four saves on the day.
- Aidan Lee led the Bears with three caused turnovers as 11 different Bears forced turnovers in the contest.
BEYOND THE BOX SCORE:
- This the first ever meeting in the SAC Tournament for these teams.
- The Bears move to 16-7 all-time in the SAC Tournament with today's win.
- For the second straight season, Powell scored 40 plus goals and is at 41 for the season after his four goals today.
- Powell is now tied for 6th all-time with 115 career goals.
NEXT UP: Lenoir-Rhyne will travel to Newberry for the SAC semi-finals on Wednesday night at 7:00 PM. The Wolves edged the Bears 16-15 back on March 7th in Hickory. The winner will advance to the 2026 SAC Championship next Saturday, May 2nd, in Matthews, N.C.