FROSTBURG, Md. - The Neumann University men's lacrosse team had its season come to an end on Saturday afternoon, dropping an ECAC tournament semifinal contest by a score of 12-6 at Frostburg State University.
Colin Blake (1 g, 2 a) led the team with three points on the day, while
Drew Conlon (2 g),
Ryan McNichol (1 g, 1 a) and
Chris Bellon (1 g, 1 a) all recorded two points.
Brendan Risley was outstanding in goal, stopping 22 shots in goal in the loss.
The host Bobcats jumped on the Knights early, outscoring the visitors 3-1 in the first frame. Frostburg tallied the first three goals of the game before
Drew Conlon answered back for Neumann with 1:45 left in the quarter.
Frostburg continued to pad its lead as the game moved to the second stanza. The Bobcats scored the only two markers of the period to take a 5-1 lead into the halftime break.
Neumann would not go quietly though, fighting valiantly to get back into the game in the third quarter. Using goals from McNichol and
Eric Conlon 36 seconds apart early in the frame, the Knights got back to within two goals at 5-3 with 12:06 left in the period. Frostburg got one back to make it 6-3, but a Bellon goal midway through the quarter brought the score back to 6-4. The Bobcats again answered back to make it 7-4, but again Neumann responded, as
Drew Conlon scored again at the 4:08 mark to make it 7-5. Unfortunately for the visitors, that was as close as they would get. Two goals in the final minute of the quarter from Frostburg reestablished a four goal advantage for the hosts going into the fourth.
The Knights tried to stay in the contest in the final 15 minutes of play with a goal from Blake with 4:53 left to play in the game, but three Bobcat goals in the quarter sealed the win for Frostburg by a score of 12-6.
Neumann closes its season with a record of 9-8, finishing above .500 for the first time since 2001. It was a season to remember for the Knights, who won a playoff game for the first time in 18 years and advanced to the conference semifinals. Losing just one senior to graduation, the team will look to go even further next season.
