SEWANEE, Tenn. – That first NCAA tournament win is always worth the wait.
The University of the South picked up NCAA win No. 1 in men's lacrosse here Wednesday afternoon with an 18-9 thumping of Benedictine (Illinois) in the first round of the Division III tournament.
Will Wyckoff and
Ryan Hofstetter led the way with seven-point games as the Tigers fired a season-high 71 shots on the Benedictine defense.
The Tigers trailed 3-2 late in the first quarter before reeling off 10 straight goals over a 22:26 stretch that spanned both sides of the halftime break. Hofstetter's second goal of the game with 8:40 remaining in the third quarter capped the run and made it 12-3 Tigers.
Benedictine never threatened again.
Wyckoff scored a career-high six goals on just seven shot attempts for his second collegiate hat trick. Five of those six goals were part of Sewanee's 10-0 run, and he added an assist later for a seventh point and another collegiate best.
Hofstetter recorded his fourth hat trick in the last seven games, and his seven points were a career high. The senior opened with a pair of assists before scoring his first goal early in the second quarter. His second goal closed out the 10-0 run, and then Hofstetter tacked on another to make it 14-4 later in the third.
INSIDE THE MATCHUP
Final Score: Sewanee 18 (9-8), Benedictine 9 (12-7)
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HISTORY
-Sewanee after five trips to Virginia for opening-round NCAA matches finally drew a home assignment and chalked up its first victory.
-This was the first Tiger NCAA appearance since 2017
-Benedictine dropped to 0-2 in the NCAA tourney.
-These teams had met one time before, with Sewanee claiming a 19-5 home victory back in 2013.
-Wednesday's win was the first by a Sewanee team in the NCAAs since the Tigers knocked off Rust 68-61 in men's basketball back in 1997.
HOW IT HAPPENED
-Benedictine held first-quarter leads of 1-0 and 3-2 before the roof caved in on the Eagles.
-That second quarter couldn't have gone any better for Sewanee if the Tigers had tried.
-Not only did the home side keep Benedictine off the scoreboard for the entire 15 minutes, but they scored six times to head into halftime leading 9-3.
-That run continued into the third quarter with Wyckoff scoring twice and Hofstetter once to make it a 12-3 Sewanee lead and the rout was on.
SEWANEE KEY STATISTICS
-Sewanee's 71 shots are the most by a Southern Athletic Association team this season.
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Carlton Ward won 19-of-25 faceoffs and scooped up a team-leading 10 ground balls to keep the momentum in Sewanee's favor.
-Sewanee finished with a 39-21 ground ball edge.
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Davis Gillenwater scored his fifth hat trick of the season.
BENEDICTINE KEY STATISTICS
-Will Robinson scored six goals on nine shots to lead the Eagles. Robinson finished his sophomore season with 67 goals and 80 points.
-First-year goalie James McDonald made a season-high 28 saves.
-Neither team scored on the extra-man, with Benedictine going 0-for-4 and Sewanee 0-for-2.
-The Eagles in the second quarter had a three-minute man advantage. They fired three shots early in the possession, but none were on target and that was it – a big momentum swing for the Tigers.
UP NEXT
Sewanee plays Saturday at No. 1-ranked Christopher Newport (16-1) in the Second Round. Faceoff is set for noon Eastern time in Newport News, Virginia. The winner of that game plays Sunday at 3 p.m. Eastern against the winner of Wesleyan (12-5) and Rensselaer (10-5).
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