SPARTANBURG, S.C. – With the conclusion of Southern Conference play Saturday, the field is set for the 2019 SoCon Men’s Lacrosse Championship at Vert Stadium in High Point, North Carolina. The host Panthers earned a share of the regular-season title and the No. 1 seed in the tournament, which will take place Thursday, May 2, and Saturday, May 4.
High Point (12-2), ranked 12th nationally by Inside Lacrosse Magazine, downed Richmond 15-14 on Saturday move to 6-1 in the league and clinch its share of the regular-season title and the top seed in the tournament. Sophomore Asher Nolting, the reigning SoCon Offensive Player of the Year and one of 25 nominees for the Tewaaraton Award this year, scored the game-winning goal with 6.4 seconds left to lift the Panthers to their second straight shared title and first No. 1 seed. HPU claimed the tiebreaker for the top seed over Air Force by virtue of its 13-9 win over the Falcons on April 6.
HPU, the 2015 tournament champion, will be making its fourth tournament appearance in five seasons.
The Panthers will face No. 4 seed Jacksonville, which is making its third straight tournament appearance, in the first semifinal on Thursday, May 2, at 5:30 p.m. The Dolphins (6-8) earned a 20-12 win at Mercer on Saturday to cap a three-game win streak to end their regular season and finish 5-2 in SoCon play. JU, which handed High Point its lone league loss this season with a 12-10 win on March 23, topped the Panthers in the semifinals of last season’s tournament, 12-11 in overtime, to reach the title game for the first time.
No. 2 seed Air Force (10-4), which downed Bellarmine 13-6 Saturday to claim a share of its third regular-season title, is in the tournament for the third time and will face Richmond in the second semifinal on May 2 at 8 p.m. The Falcons, who are receiving votes in the national polls, won the tournament in 2016 and 2017, topping Richmond in the title game both times. Air Force, which has won three straight, leads NCAA Division I in scoring defense, allowing 8.07 goals per game.
Defending champion Richmond (8-6) is the No. 3 seed. The Spiders entered the final day of the regular season with a chance at the title but dropped the heartbreaker to High Point to fall to 5-2 in league play. Richmond won the tiebreaker for the third seed with Jacksonville by virtue of its 14-8 win over the Dolphins on April 6.
Air Force won the regular-season meeting over Richmond 14-7 on April 13, handing the Spiders their first league loss of the season.
The title game of the SoCon Championship will be Saturday at 12 p.m.
All three contests will air live on ESPN+, with Jason Patterson handling play-by-play duties and Phil Cox serving as analyst.
SoCon Men’s Lacrosse Championship
(Vert Stadium; High Point, N.C.)
May 2 (Thursday)
No. 1 High Point vs. No. 4 Jacksonville, 5:30 p.m. ESPN+
No. 2 Air Force vs. No. 3 Richmond, 8 p.m. ESPN+
(Vert Stadium; High Point, N.C.)
May 4 (Saturday)
Championship game, 12 p.m. ESPN+
-www.SoConSports.com-