Canton, N.Y. - May 14, 2016 - The Springfield College men's lacrosse team had its season come to a close on Saturday afternoon as it was bested by St. Lawrence, 12-9, in the NCAA Division III Championship Second Round on North Country Field.

St. Lawrence, ranked eighth in the latest USILA Division III National Coaches Poll, improves to 17-2 and will host Amherst in the NCAA Championship Elite Eight next Wednesday.  Springfield, which has appeared in the national tournament nine-consecutive years, was playing the NCAA Sweet 16 for the third time in the past seven seasons and closed its season with a 12-8 record. 

Dylan Sheehan (Massapequa, N.Y.) totaled two goals and an assist and finished as one of the all-time greats in program history, ending his career third in points (288) and assists (137), as well as fifth in goals (151).  Kevin Dean (Westhampton, N.Y.) scored a team-best four goals, including three in the first half. Jake Reynolds (Scituate, Mass.) made 12 stops in goal, including 10 in the second half, and Matthew LaCroix (Westfield, Mass.) went 15-for-24 from the "X" as tied teammate Brendan Dooley (Setauket, N.Y.) with a team-best six ground balls.

St. Lawrence opened up the game with two unassisted goals at the 14:10 and 11:19 mark to give the visitors an early 2-0 cushion.  Dean answered back just 24 seconds later when he finished a feed from Dom Abate (Beverly, Mass.), only to have the hosts push their lead to 3-1 on another unassisted goal at 7:36.  Jake Versprille (Franklin, Mass.) connected with Sheehan in transition 15 seconds later to pull the Pride back, but the Saints scored three of the final four goals of the quarter, including a shot from midfield as the horn sounded for a 6-3 cushion at 15 minutes of play.

Springfield did not go away quietly and poured in three-consecutive goals to begin the second quarter.  Tony LaGuerre (Shrub Oak, N.Y.) started the run when he buried a strike two minutes in, while Tom Hurley (Goffstown, N.H.) finished a Duncan Preston (South Portland, Maine) pass at the 7:56 mark.  Sheehan knotted the game at 6-6 when he intercepted a Saints clearing pass and scored in transition with 6:55 remaining.  However, St. Lawrence once again finished strong, netting three of the last four markers to head into the break with a 9-7 cushion.

The Pride took control of the second half in the early going, using goals from Abate and Dean in the opening 6:47 to tie the game at 9 apiece.   As was the story the first two quarters, the hosts netted the final two goals of the third quarter to take the lead for good.  The Saints tacked on the final goal of the game with 11:47 left in the contest to seal the 12-9 victory.