SPARTANBURG, S.C. – The 2017 Southern Conference Men's Lacrosse Championship begins Thursday at Robins Stadium on the campus of the University of Richmond. The four-team tournament will kick off with a showdown between co-regular-season champion No. 1 Air Force and No. 4 seed Jacksonville at 5 p.m. followed by a clash between No. 2 Richmond and No. 3 Furman, both of whom also garnered co-regular-season champion status, at 7:30 p.m.
Thursday's matchup between the Falcons and the Dolphins is a rematch from the pair's regular season meeting on March 25 that saw the Dolphins take a 7-3 lead heading into the locker room at halftime. A second-half Air Force comeback led by junior attackmen Chris Walsch and Nick Hruby propelled in sending the game to overtime. With seven seconds remaining in the first overtime period, Air Force's Austin Smith found the back of the net on an assist from Cameron Carter to give Air Force a 10-9 victory.
Air Force (10-5, 6-1 SoCon), which is receiving votes in this week's Inside Lacrosse poll, enters the tournament riding a three-game win streak and have won four of their last five contests. The Falcon defense currently ranks fifth in the nation, holding opponents to just 7.73 goals per game, while the offense leads the SoCon in goals per game with 11.13 – good for 23rd in the nation. Walsch claimed back-to-back Offensive Player of the Year honors after leading the SoCon in points, averaging 3.80 per contest. Walsch also tied teammate Hruby, also 2017 First Team All-SoCon selection, with a league-high 34 goals this season. Defenseman Brandon Jones, the reigning SoCon Freshman of the Year, boasts First Team All-Conference honors for the Falcons in addition to Air Force faceoff specialist Trent Harper. This season, Jones is averaging 4.80 ground balls per game, which is good for second in the conference, and 1.33 caused turnovers per game. Harper led the SoCon in faceoff winning percentage, helping gain possession on 62.0 percent draws for the Falcons. Harper also averaged 4.73 ground balls per game – good for fourth in the SoCon.
Jacksonville (3-10, 3-4 SoCon) will make their first-ever SoCon Championship appearance after losing its first nine contests of the 2017 season, including three SoCon matchups against then-No. 19 Richmond, Air Force and Furman. The Dolphins won three of their last four games of the season and secured the No. 4 seed on the last day of the regular season with a win over Bellarmine to own the head-to-head tiebreaker complimented with a High Point loss against Air Force. Jacksonville saw its captain and star midfielder McLean Chiquen, a junior transfer from Stony Brook, garner Second Team All-Conference honors after ranking fifth in the conference in points per game (2.62) and seventh in goals per game (1.69). The Dolphins also nabbed freshman attackman Dwayne Mattushik to the All-Freshman Team. Mattushik registered 14 goals and two assists in 13 games, seven of which he started in, during his freshman campaign. Jacksonville is led by first-year head coach John Galloway - a former Syracuse goalkeeper and two-time First Team All-American selection. Galloway ended his career at Syracuse with a NCAA record 59 wins while playing a record 3,776 minute and is the only goalie in NCAA history to win championships in his freshman and sophomore years. Before joining the Dolphins, Galloway was an assistant coach at Providence for four years.
Thursday's nightcap between the Spiders and the Paladins will be a rematch between the two teams, which squared off in the final weekend of the 2017 regular season at Robins Stadium. Then-No. 17 Richmond defeated Furman, 13-4, with the help of senior goalkeeper Benny Pugh who was sensational in net, saving 11 of the Paladins' 14 shots on-goal. In the 2015 semifinals, the Paladins fell to the top-seeded Spiders, 8-7, at Robins Stadium. Richmond enters the Thursday's semifinal ranked 16th in the nation in the Inside Lacrosse Poll.
The Spiders (11-3, 6-1 SoCon), who won the inaugural 2015 regular season title after going 6-0 in conference play, will look to claim their first-ever SoCon Championship crown. Richmond has appeared both SoCon title games, dating back to 2015, both of which have been played in Robins Stadium. In 2015, the then-No. 1 seeded Spiders fell to third-seeded High Point, 9-8, in double overtime. In last year's championship between the Spiders and the Falcons, Richmond fell, 9-8, once again – this time in the first overtime period. The Spiders are led by sophomore attackman Teddy Hatfield (1.93 gpg, 3.50 ppg), senior faceoff specialist Peter Moran (57.9 percent), junior longstick midfielder Austin Cates (1.64 gbpg) and senior defensemen Ryan Dennis (1.86 gbpg, 2.0 ctpg) and Brendan Hynes (4.42 gbpg, 3.00 ctpg). Hynes currently ranks second in the nation in caused turnovers per game and is the only player in the country to cause five or more turnovers in three games this season. Richmond goalkeeper Benny Pugh has been nothing short of impressive after finishing his senior campaign as the top goalkeeper in the country. Pugh leads the nation in goals-against average, surrendering just 5.87 goals per 60 minutes of action. The native of Powhatan, Virginia, also leads the country in save percentage at nearly 68 percent and ranks 13th in the NCAA in saves per game (11.79). Pugh garnered six SoCon Defensive Player of the Week recognitions during the 2017 season, making him the SoCon all-time leader with 10 career weekly honors. Hatfield, Dennis, Hynes, Pugh, Cates and senior midfielder J.P. Forester are all First Team All-Conference selections, while Moran represents the Spiders on the second team as the faceoff specialist.
The third-seeded Paladins (7-7, 6-1 SoCon) will make their second SoCon Championship appearance with their first appearance coming as the No. 4 seed in 2015. Fourth-year Paladin head coach Richie Meade was tabbed the league's Coach of the Year after leading the Paladins to their best season in program history. Freshman midfielder Lou Yovino was named the SoCon Freshman of the Year after leading all freshmen in the conference with 25 goals this season. The Parkland, Florida, native also registered three hat tricks in his freshman campaign, including in the Paladins' 12-10 loss against Penn State, who was tabbed the No. 1 team in the nation in the Inside Lacrosse poll in week eight. Yovino was named the SoCon Offensive Player of the Week after tallying his season-high four goals, aiding the Paladins in defeating Air Force, 8-7, on April 8. Yovino, sophomore attackman David Williamson, sophomore midfielder William Holcomb, senior defenseman Joe Stone and freshman goalie Alec Van de Bovenkamp represent the Paladins on the All-SoCon Second Team. Van de Bovenkamp also made the All-Freshman Team as the lone goalkeeper.
Both semifinal winners will enjoy a day off before battling for the SoCon crown on Saturday at noon. The championship game broadcast on ESPN3, while the two semifinal contests on Thursday will be streamed on the SoCon Digital Network. For more information, visit the 2017 SoCon men's lacrosse championship web page on soconsports.com.
2017 SoCon Men's Lacrosse Championship
Robins Stadium – Richmond, Virginia
Thursday, May 4
Semifinals
Game 1: No. 1 Air Force vs. No. 4 Jacksonville, 5 p.m., SoCon Digital Network
Game 2: No. 2 Richmond vs. No. 3 Furman, 7:30 p.m., SoCon Digital Network
Saturday, May 6
Championship
Game 3: Game 1 winner vs. Game 2 winner, Noon, ESPN3
Note: All times are Eastern.
-www.SoConSports.com-