Limestone Men's Lacrosse To Play for National Championship on Sunday, May 24

The nationally top-ranked Limestone College (19-1) men's lacrosse team advanced to its second straight NCAA Division II National Championship Game and third title game appearance over the past four years with a 16-6 semifinal win over No. 5 Lake Erie College (15-3) on Sunday, May 17, at Saints Field.

The Saints, who tied a program record with their 19th win of the season, will play No.3-ranked Le Moyne College in the National Championship Game at Lincoln Financial Field in Philadelphia, Pa. on Sunday, May 24, at 1 p.m. Limestone will be making its ninth NCAA Division II Title Game appearance.

Avenging a 14-12 midseason loss to Lake Erie, the Blue and Gold dominated both ends of the field with a 39-20 advantage in shots attempted and a 55-20 margin in ground balls. Limestone held a commanding 39-11 edge in shots through three quarters.

Sophomore faceoff specialist Kevin Reisman (West Babylon, N.Y.) went 17-of-19 at the center "X" and collected 14 ground balls, breaking his own team record for most ground balls in a single season. He now has 215 on the year.

Junior attack Vinny Ricci (Port Moody, British Columbia) tallied four goals to lead the Saints while junior attack Kyle Rhatigan (Holbrook, N.Y.) finished with six points on two goals and four assists. Junior Reid Reinholdt (Port Moody, British Columbia) and sophomore Colton Watkinson (Burlington, Ontario) both chipped in two goals and an assist.

Rhatigan got the scoring started for the Saints early on, taking a rebounded shot off the opening faceoff and depositing it into the back of the net for his 35th goal of the year. Reinholdt then put Limestone in front with an unassisted goal just over three minutes into the game to make it 2-0.

The Blue and Gold continued to add to its lead in the first quarter as sophomore attack Chris Clancy (Peterborough, Ontario) and freshman midfielder Matthew Nelson (Fulton, N.Y.) both split the frame. Rhatigan then scored his second goal of the stanza to stake the Saints to a 5-0 lead at the end of one.

Lake Erie snapped the run with a goal by Justin Goodwin with 7:45 left in the second, but Limestone rattled off three straight goals to grab an 8-1 advantage with less than two minutes remaining. Ricci scored his first goal of the day to start the run before Watkinson added back-to-back scores.

The Storm found the back of the net with 73 seconds left in the half, but it would be the Saints carrying an 8-2 lead into the break. Limestone would then put the game well out of reach in the third quarter as the home team used an 8-2 spurt to take a 16-4 lead heading into the final stanza.

Junior attack Jordan Saunderson (Oshawa, Ontario) and Ricci both scored with 12 seconds of each other to start the third, making it a 10-2 game in favor of the Saints. Lucas Shafer then scored twice for Lake Erie, but freshman midfielder Ryan Maciejewski (Penn Yan, N.Y.) answered each goal to keep Limestone in front by eight.

Ricci added a pair of man-up scores for the Blue and Gold over the remainder of the period while freshman midfielder Ben Higgins (Hampstead, Md.) and Reinholdt each chipped in a goal to give the Saints a comfortable 16-4 cushion at the end of the third.

Lake Erie controlled the fourth quarter with a 9-0 margin in shots attempted, leading to two goals by Shafer, but the Saints had more than enough in reserve to secure the 16-6 victory.

Higgins and Maciejewski both finished with two goals for Limestone while Saunderson added in a goal and an assist.

Ricci and senior defender Peter Papaleonti (Annapolis, Md.) each caused three turnovers. Sophomore midfielder Mark Vadala (Syracuse, N.Y.) finished 5-for-7 on faceoffs and pulled in six ground balls.

Junior keeper Patrick Sheridan (Fairport, N.Y.) was solid in between the pipes, posting six saves to run his season record to 19-1.

Limestone went 22-of-26 on faceoffs, including a perfect 11-for-11 in the third quarter.

Shafer paced the Storm on offense, recording four of the team's six goals.

Limestone and Le Moyne have played once before in the national title game with the Dolphins winning 11-10 in 2004.

The Saints now own three national championships in men’s lacrosse.