Limestone Men Capture CC Championship
from press release
CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Limestone goalie Steve Gartelman
stopped a Belmont Abbey shot with only seconds left in regulation
as the nationally fourth-ranked and top-seeded Saints defeated the
third-seeded Crusaders 10-9 in the championship game of the 2010
Conference Carolinas Men's Lacrosse Tournament on Sunday in
Charlotte, N.C. Limestone has now won its conference tournament
championship for the 11th time in the last 12 seasons.
Limestone, which led 9-5 thru three quarters, pushed the advantage
to 10-5 on sophomore Randy Waugh's (Severna Park, MD) goal at the
12:43 mark of the final period. However Belmont Abbey rattled off
four straight with the last of those coming 0:47 remaining. The
Crusaders then had one last chance with only seconds remaining but
were denied by Gartelman (Seaford, N.Y.) who finished with 15 saves
and earned All-Tournament accolades in the process.
The Saints were strong at the center "x" going 16-for-23 with all
attempts taken by senior face-off specialist and Tournament Most
Valuable Player Sean Bennett (East Moriches, N.Y.) who also had a
team and game tying best four ground balls along with junior Brian
Patridge (Columbus, OH) who also added one goal.
Seven Limestone players tallied at least goal. Freshman Riley
Loewen (Burnaby, British Columbia), who earned All-Tournament
honors, led the way with three goals and two assists while senior
Jake Rogalia (Liverpool, N.Y.) tallied a pair of goals and two
ground balls. Three other Saints scored one goal those were senior
All-Tournament selection Teddy Prager (Seaford, N.Y.) along with
juniors Ken Kerr (Pasadena, MD), and Sam Buppert (Eldersburg, MD)
and as mentioned earlier single tallies as well for Waugh and
Patridge. Sophomore Jackson Decker (Port Moody, British Columbia)
added one assist.
On clears Limestone was successful on 17-of-20 attempts while
Belmont Abbey was 21-of-24.
The Saints with Sunday's championship victory have won nine
straight and move to 11-0 in the South Region of NCAA Men's
Division II Lacrosse and 11-1 overall. Belmont Abbey drops to
6-6.
The last five meetings in this series have now been decided by 10
total goals.
Limestone returns to action on Saturday, May 1, closing out its
regular season at Catawba. Face-off is set for 7:00 p.m. in
Salisbury, North Carolina.
