The first six games of the Division III men’s NCAA tournament are in the books.
The 38-team tournament is now down to 32, with the second round being played on Saturday, May 14. Let’s break down today’s action.
HUGE BURST LIFTS SEWANEE
Staring down a one-goal deficit with 3:36 left in the first quarter, Sewanee was in need of a lift. Leave it to Will Wyckoff to carry the team.
Wyckoff scored five of his six goals during a game-changing 10-goal run that turned the tide and carried Sewanee to an 18-9 win over Benedictine (Ill.). Wyckoff’s fifth goal of the run made the score 11-3, and Ryan Hofstetter followed less than a minute later for another, which proved to be the final goal in the spurt.
Wyckoff and Hofstetter tied for the team lead with seven points. Davis Gillenwater provided three goals, and Carlton Ward went 19-for-25 on faceoffs.
Sewanee took a ridiculous 71 shots in the game and will face Christopher Newport in the second round.
ALBION LEADS WIRE-TO-WIRE
Only one goal was scored by either team in the first quarter, perhaps a sign that a close game was incoming. Only a total of four goals were scored in the first half.
But Albion ramped it up in the second half, and the Brits led wire-to-wire in an 11-5 win over Dubuque. Jace Conley had four goals and two assists, Ethan Rottell had three assists and both Sam Puzevic and Timmy Salinas scored twice. Jack Gogonis made 11 saves.
Conley assisted Grant Chaffee for the only goal of the opening 15 minutes, and Conley’s 86th goal of the season put the Brits up 3-0. Giovanni Silva netted Dubuque’s first goal of the game with 2:47 left in the first half.
Albion scored the first four tallies of the second half for a 7-1 lead. Next up for the Brits is defending national champion RIT.
STEVENS BREAKS IT OPEN
Mired in a back-and-forth first 20 minutes, Stevens was in total control by the end of the third quarter. The Ducks scored eight of nine goals in a 15-minute span to take down SUNY Maritime 16-8.
Up 5-4 after Maritime scored three straight to close the gap, Stevens scored the next five — two from Jack Savarese and one each from Mikey Whiteside, Russell Eberding and Ryan Caplis.
John Killcommons broke the spurt for Maritime, putting his side down 10-5, but Stevens responded with three more — two from Michael Burns and one more from Whiteside.
Up 13-5, Stevens coasted to victory. The Ducks play Dickinson in the second round.
STOCKTON OFFENSE EXPLODES
Dante Poli went off for eight goals and three assists, Luc Swedlund had five goals and one assist and both Sean Haddock and Reegan Capozzoli had a hat trick as Stockton dominated UMass Boston 26-11.
Stockton held a 68-45 shot advantage and took over the game with a 12-1 run that turned a 3-2 deficit into a 14-4 lead.
Stockton next plays Salisbury.
JOHN CARROLL ENDS ON A HIGH NOTE
John Carroll scored the game’s last seven goals, highlighting a near-perfect defensive effort in the final 25 minutes, an in 11-3 win over North Central.
Four goals from Matt Berdysiak and four assists from Brendan Whitty were plenty to lead the offense during an afternoon when the defense held it down. Jake Caress led with five caused turnovers, and Jon Gaglio was electric with 15 saves.
John Carroll plays Union in the second round.
FIRST, FOURTH QUARTERS PACE NORWICH
Norwich and Maine Maritime were about neck and neck in the second and third quarters. It’s the first and fourth quarters that swung the game in Norwich’s favor.
Payden Masaracchia scored six times, Parker Campbell had seven points (five assists) and Jake Andrews-Pestana had a hat trick in Norwich’s 20-12 win. The Cadets led 5-1 after the first quarter and maintained that four-goal advantage into the half (10-6).
It was 15-10 after three quarters, and then the Cadets ended any hopes Maine Maritime had of a comeback by scoring the first four goals of the fourth.
Norwich plays Tufts on Saturday.