Sun May 23 2021 | Matt Hamilton | College
COURTESY LENOIR-RHYNE ATHLETICS
Lenoir-Rhyne’s dream season will continue into the NCAA Division II Men’s national championship game the Bears’ first appearance in the final in program history.
Before Lenoir-Rhyne could book its ticket to Hartford, it had to get past South Atlantic Conference rival Wingate for a second time this season. Thanks to six goals and an assist from star attackman Eric Dickinson, the Bears pulled away for a comfortable 18-10 win over the Bulldogs in the NCAA semifinals.
Four different scorers helped Lenoir-Rhyne, playing at home in front of a raucous crowd, jump out to a 4-1 lead at the end of the first quarter. Dickinson had two goals in the second quarter, a back-and-forth period that saw the Bears emerge with an 8-4 halftime lead.
For the first time in program history, the Lenoir-Rhyne Men’s Lacrosse Team is heading to the NCAA Division II National Championship Game thanks to an 18-10 win over Wingate in the Regional Final on Sunday afternoon. The men’s lax team joins the 2013 Football squad as the only two LR programs to advance to the National Championship game in the NCAA era.
Senior Eric Dickinson led Lenoir-Rhyne with six goals on the afternoon and became just the sixth player in Division II history to reach 200 goals. Dickinson came in with 196 and netted number 200 early in the second half.
For the second straight game, freshman Kyle Hatcher netted a hat trick and finished the afternoon with three goals and an assist. In the Bears semifinal win over Tampa, Hatcher scored four goals (all in the second half).
Release the McCracken.
Freshman Colten McCracken delivered the most dramatic finish of the weekend, sending Lenoir-Rhyne to the Men’s DII Semifinals with 16-15 overtime comeback win Sunday.
He dodged to outside the hash marks, and with two Tampa defenders on him rolled inside to his left and scored with four seconds left in overtime on a jumping twister while taking a hit.
His teammates came storming onto the field, running around their home Moretz Stadium after capping a comeback that saw the Bears down as many as five goals.
Eric Dickinson (2G, 4A), Kyle Hatcher (4G), Bryce Reece (4G) and Toron Eccleston (2G, 2A) led the Bears offensively. Zach Bodeau got the better of an elite face-off matchup, winning 19-of-34, and goalie Noah Johnson made 12 saves.
The Lenoir-Rhyne Men's Lacrosse team punched their ticket into the SAC Finals with a 20-8 win over Tusculum Friday afternoon at Moretz Stadium. The 20 goals are
L-R Men s Lacrosse Finishes Regular Season With Strong Showing whky.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from whky.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.