Romeoville, Ill. – Three different Flyers recorded a hat trick as the #4 seed Lewis University men's lacrosse team downed #5 seed Newberry, 15-14, in the second round of the NCAA Tournament on Mother's Day.
With the win, the Flyers, who improved their record to 14-3, will head to Tampa Bay this Wednesday to face top-seeded University of Tampa. As for the Wolves, they end the year with a 13-5 overall record.
IMPACT PLAYERS
Camden Rappis (Delafield, Wisconsin/Kettle Moraine HS),
Carter Korzenski (Orchard Park, N.Y./Limestone) and
Paul Ruskoski (Tulsa, Oklahoma/Bishop Kelley HS) accounted for the trio of Flyers hat tricks in the win with Ruskoski leading the way with five total points.
Dylan Kendrick (Chanhassen, Minnesota/Chanhassen HS) hauled in a game-high nine ground balls while
Braylon Ray (Rockford, Mich./Rockford) caused a team-best three turnovers. In net,
Caden Donahue (Hugo, Minnesota/Mahtomedi HS) made 16 saves in the winning effort.
Matthew Burt scored a game-high seven goals for Newberry in the loss. Ryan Morrison collected a team-best six ground balls while between the sticks, Ben McMullen made 14 saves in the loss.
HOW IT HAPPENED
Tied 7-7 after 30 minutes of action in a back-and-forth first half, Newberry struck first to begin the new frame as a Nathan Pouliot goal sparked a short 3-0 burst that gave the visitors their largest lead of the game, 10-7, at the 10:04 mark.
The Flyers flipped the script just under halfway through the stanza as Ruskoski found the twine to spurn a 5-1 run that was capped by a
Max Anderson (Prior Lake, Minnesota/Prior Lake HS) goal to reclaim the lead, 12-11, ahead of the fourth quarter.
Ruskoski struck first to begin the final stanza as he completed his hat trick 43 seconds in the quarter and made it a 13-11 contest. Still, the Wolves fought back as Liam Vollans and Scott Williams notched consecutive goals to tie the contest, 13-13, with 11:38 on the clock.
After exchanging the next two goals, the Flyers took the lead for good with 7:08 left as
AJ Baumley (Huntley, Illinois/Huntley HS) rifled a ball into the back of the net, making it a 15-14 affair.
Newberry attempted one last push, but Donahue tallied his 15
th and 16
th saves of the contest to keep the visitors off the board and seal the 15-14 win for the red and white.
GAME NOTES
- Lewis is now 2-0 at home in the NCAA Tournament
- Donahue made 15-or-more saves for the third time this season
- Rappis now has a hat trick in six consecutive outings
- The Flyers were nearly perfect on clears, going 23-of-24 compared to 22-of-27 for the Wolves
UP NEXT
The Flyers will head to the Sunshine State to face top-seeded UTampa on Wednesday. Opening face-off is still yet to be announced.
For the latest news and updates on Lewis men's lacrosse, visit LewisFlyers.com and follow the Flyers on social media at @lewismlax on Instagram and X.
