NESCAC Quarters Provide Clarity in D-III Men's Top 20

The postseason picture continues to get clearer in Division III men’s lacrosse, as there were plenty of chalky midweek results. Plus, the NESCAC tournament began and continued to provide clarity.

The first quarterfinal tilt in the NESCAC did not disappoint. Hamilton shot out to an early lead on Bowdoin thanks to a four-goal first-half performance from Carson Kraus, but the Ursus Maritimus would not stay landlocked for long, as they scored three straight goals to open the third period. 

The two squads traded goals until halfway into the fourth quarter, when Bowdoin went on a two-goal run to tie it at 12. A mad dash for the winner ensued, as there were still more than four minutes remaining in regulation. Hamilton got off three straight shots; one went wide, and the other two were saved by Robert Hobbs. The Polar Bears struggled to hold on to the ball, though, as the final seconds were spent running from pressure and trying to get a clean shot before time expired. 

In the overtime period, Hamilton managed to get the first shot, but Jesse Delinsky’s effort went wide. Bowdoin cleared the ball and set the stage for Sam Reye-Steiner to deliver the winner.

Elsewhere in the NESCAC, Middlebury pulled off a 10-8 upset victory over arch-foe Amherst with a three-goal surge, two of which were scored by Russell Thorndike, in the fourth quarter. The Mammoths couldn’t get their early offense going, and Middlebury hit them on the counter multiple times to put the game out of reach. Amherst got a goal back with 51 seconds left from Alex Vlacich, but that was the sum of its fourth-quarter efforts. 

Tufts made short work of Williams with a 20-11 win at Bello Field to stay undefeated and at the top of the Top 20. 

Wesleyan and Bates did battle on Sunday. The Bobcats battled and hung close with Wesleyan through three quarters, but a seven-goal fourth quarter explosion from the Cardinals put things away. CK Giancola was a shooting dynamo. He had five goals — three of them in the fourth quarter. An 8-0 run spanned the late third into the fourth, taking the game from 6-4 Wesleyan to 14-4 Wesleyan. 

Jack Raba had four assists and Will Miller added three more, as 11 of the Cardinals' 15 goals were assisted. The win sets the NESCAC semifinals for May 3. Tufts will host both games, as the Jumbos take on Middlebury in the first of the two semis. The second will feature Welseyan taking on Bowdoin.

In a major Liberty League upset, St. Lawrence took down perennial top-five ranked RPI 9-6 on the final day of the regular season. The Saints used a dominant five-goal first half to set the tone, and their defense did the rest. RPI could not get past Saints netminder Michael Marinello, who stopped 21 attempts on goal. His counterpart, Joseph Perry, made 16 saves of his own, but it was not enough to see the Engineers through despite a three-goal run that stretched from the third to the fourth quarter. That win will vault St. Lawrence into the second spot of the Liberty League tournament due to owning the tiebreaker over RPI.

Another notable result was that Transylvania secured the HCLC crown. Pioneers went undefeated in conference play and won its last four games by a combined 95-12. It has officially punched its ticket to the dance, Monster Mash style, and was the first Division III team to do so.

More conference playoff action is on the docket all week and into next weekend as teams must steer into the curve of conference clashes — or careen off the cliff into a chasm of cheerlessness.

Continue below to see the entire Top 20, which is compiled by USA Lacrosse Magazine staff and contributors.

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