DANVILLE, Ky. - The University of the South men's lacrosse team sent Rhodes College home in the SAA Tournament for a second straight season, as the Tigers turned back the Lynx, 10-7, in the semifinals of the 2023 Southern Athletic Association (SAA) Men's Lacrosse Tournament, Friday night from Andy Frye Stadium on the campus of Centre College.
INSIDE THE MATCHUP
Final Score: (2) Sewanee (11-4) 10, (3) Rhodes (12-6) 7
Sewanee Athletics Social Media | Twitter/Instagram: @SewaneeTigers
Men's Lacrosse Social Media | Twitter/Instagram: @SewaneeTigerLax
HOW IT HAPPENED
-After only scoring one goal in the first 23 minutes of the game and trailing 4-1, the Tigers starting clawing their way back.
Corbet Darden struck the back of the cage to cut the deficit in half.
-Later in the half, after a Rhodes turnover and an
Alec Jazaeri ground ball,
Davis Gillenwater made it 4-3 with his goal with 1:17 left in the opening half.
-Rhodes did increase the lead back to two goals, 5-3, with a strike with 9:35 left in the third period. However, the Sewanee defense kept Rhodes in check, and now, it was the offense's turn to step up. Following a
Mac Elliott caused turnover and
Carlton Ward picking up the ground ball,
Devon Root made it 5-4 with less than three minutes left in the stanza.
-Sewanee's
Drew Perun won the opening face off, and 37 seconds later,
Ashton Anton tied the game with his goal.
-After Rhodes bobbled the next face off, Sewanee picked up, and
Luke Valentine gave the Tigers the lead for the first time in the game, 6-5.
-Rhodes responded with a goal with 11:31 left in the game, but that did not phase the Tigers, as they netted four straight in a three-minute span to seal the win.
-Sewanee picked up its 10th win all-time against Rhodes in program history (10-5) and is now 3-2 versus the Lynx in postseason games.
SECOND STRAIGHT YEAR IN THE FINAL
-After not making an appearance for three straight seasons, the Tigers are back in the championship game for the second time in as many seasons and the eighth since the SAA's inception in 2013.
-Along with 2022 and 2023, Sewanee has participated in the first six championship games (2013-14-15-16-17-18-22-23), and they have won five tournament championships.
SEWANEE KEY STATISTICS
-
Luke Valentine posted a hat trick to lead the Purple and White on Friday night, while
Alec Jazaeri picked up five ground balls.
-
Greg Ix (9-4) stopped 12 saves to match his season high.
RHODES KEY STATISTICS
-Andrew Murphy led the Lynx with two goals on offense.
UP NEXT
After edging Birmingham-Southern, 17-16, in a thriller in the other semifinal game on Friday night, the host Colonels and the visiting Tigers will meet once again for the second time in three weeks, this time for all the marbles.
The 2023 SAA Tournament Championship game will take place on Sunday at 1 p.m. ET/noon CT.
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