Le Moyne men’s lacrosse has been the most dominant team in Division II for the last handful of years, winning six national titles in the last 17 years. With powers like Merrimack and LIU moving to Division I and Limestone taking a step back, the Dolphins have dominated the last three seasons.

Dan Sheehan’s program stepped onto Homewood Field on Sunday afternoon looking to start another dominant campaign. The top-ranked Dolphins could not have started with a tougher task — facing off with No. 2 Wingate, a growing threat in Division II.

Le Moyne’s grip on Division II lacrosse may not last forever, but Sunday proved it is as firm as ever.

Kevin Sheehan tallied four goals and the Le Moyne defense held off a second-half rally to top Wingate 15-11. Carter Collins and Ben McCreary each had hat tricks in a strong offensive performance by the Dolphins.

Senior faceoff man Sam Kury won 18 of 27 faceoffs to help Le Moyne hold on to a commanding lead throughout the game.

Collins, an offseason transfer from Lindenwood, made his presence felt immediately, showcasing why he became a first team USA Lacrosse Magazine Preseason All-American. He dropped a hat trick in a 5-2 first quarter in favor of Le Moyne.

Willie Grieco scored twice in the second quarter to cut the Wingate deficit to 6-4, but the Bulldogs would get no closer. The Dolphins scored four straight goals, including two from Kevin Sheehan, to take a commanding 10-4 lead at halftime.

Sheehan then opened the second half with two more goals, and Colin Sypek added his first of the day, pushing the lead to 13-4 after a seven-goal run. A high-powered Wingate offense didn’t go away quietly, rallying with four straight goals to cut the deficit to 13-8. Adam Vodovnik had three goals in 10 minutes for Wingate, but even his efforts were not enough.

After McCreary ended the run with 12:15 left, Grieco and Bobby Padden added two more goals to pull Wingate close at 14-11 with nine minutes left. Sypek scored his second goal less than 90 seconds later to seal the commanding win for Le Moyne at one of the game’s most historic venues.