PLYMOUTH, N.H. – The most successful season for the Plymouth State University men's lacrosse program came to an end in the second round of the 2024 NCAA Division III Men's Lacrosse Tournament as #5 St. Lawrence University held off the Panthers, 14-6, at Jackson Field on the campus of Wesleyan University on Saturday afternoon.
The Saints improve to 15-3 and will face the winner of #7 Wesleyan and St. John Fisher in a third round game on Sunday (May 12). Plymouth State's historic season comes to an end with a 15-5 mark.
St. Lawrence held the Panthers off the scoreboard in the first to build a 4-0 lead after one. PSU notched a pair of goals in the second, with the Saints carrying a 9-2 advantage into halftime.
Plymouth State played the Saints even in the second half and kept the high-powered offense scoreless in the fourth quarter.
Plymouth State entered the tournament having won nine straight games, culminating in a number of program firsts. The Panthers were Little East Conference (LEC) regular season co-champions for the first time, then won three straight LEC Tournament games to capture its first conference championship to make an appearance in the national tournament for the second time, and first since 1976. PSU set a school record for wins for the second straight year.
The Basics:
- Plymouth State 6, #5 St. Lawrence 14
- Plymouth State (15-5)
- #5 St. Lawrence (15-3)
How it Happened:
- St. Lawrence opened the scoring just over two minutes into the contest and extended the lead to 4-0 after one.
- Freshman Aiden Renner (Phillipsburg, N.J.) scored PSU's first NCAA Tournament goal in nearly half a century early in the second, but the Saints answered with back-to-back scores to make it 6-1 midway through the frame.
- Graduate student Alex Hawkom (Manchester, N.H.) answered for the Panthers to pull within 6-2, but St. Lawrence followed with three quick strikes for a 9-2 lead at the break.
- The teams traded goals to start the second half, with junior Ryan Collins (Attleboro, Mass.) converting for the Panthers.
- St. Lawrence used a 4-0 spurt to close out the third quarter.
- Plymouth State did all the fourth-quarter scoring as the Panthers limited St. Lawrence to just five shots while forcing ten turnovers in the stanza. Sophomore Brady Hunt (Billerica, Mass.) converted a feed from Collins during a man-up chance in the opening minute of the fourth and seniors Liam Brown (Center Harbor, N.H.) and Nolan Burke (Worcester, Mass.) added goals later in the quarter to account for the final score.
By the Numbers:
- Collins finished with a goal and an assist to lead the Panthers with two points. He added a pair of ground balls.
- Senior Owen McNichols (Manchester, N.H.) made 11 saves.
- Burke, Hawkom, Hunt, Brown and Renner also scored.
- Junior Ryan Jones (Tolland, Conn.), sophomore Cam Jenkins (Shrewsbury, Mass.) added assists.
- Renner and senior Marc Hirshom (Walpole, Mass.) shared the team lead with five ground balls apiece. Hirshom added a game-high three caused turnovers.
- Junior Joey Loeber (Chelmsford, Mass.) chipped in two caused turnovers and a pair of ground balls.
- The Saints held a narrow 38-35 advantage in shots.
- PSU finished 23-for-29 in clear attempts and was 10-for-11 in the fourth quarter.
- St. Lawrence topped the Panthers in the only other matchup between the two programs during the 2002 season.
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