GREENVILLE, S.C. (05/16/12) - The University of Colorado men’s lacrosse
team shocked the lacrosse community with an eighth seed bid to the MCLA
National Championship. The Buffs traveled to Greenville to take on the ninth
seed Michigan State Spartans. The game ended with a final score of 7-8 and
brings the Buffs record for the season to 7-7.
The Buffs began
the game with a three goal lead right off the bat with goals by Matt White, Riley Seidel, and Harrison Mallon; Mallon’s goal assisted
by Seidel. Colorado held onto this solid lead throughout the first quarter with
their defense only allowing nine shots on goal. The Buffs had a penalty for
pushing with 17 seconds remaining in the first putting them man down going into
the second.
Colorado began
the second quarter man down for 14 seconds, but the Spartans were unable to
capitalize. Michigan State was able to penetrate Colorado’s strong defense with
13:48 remaining in the first half. They followed up with a second goal,
bringing the contest to 3-2. Colorado had an opportunity to widen the lead with
a Michigan State penalty for slashing. The Buffs had three shots made during
the man up, all of which were incomplete. Colorado gained possession at the end
of the second with a Michigan State crease violation and the game became
heated. The Buffs held the 3-2 lead going into the second half.
The Buffs went
into the third quarter strong with a goal made by Seidel assisted by Tyler Doughrety. Michigan State
followed up quickly with a goal bringing the contest 4-3. The Spartans had two
more goals giving them a short-lived lead. Both the Buffs and the Spartans
served slashing penalties in quick succession. Neither team was able to
capitalize. Seidel finished off the third quarter with an unassisted goal
bringing the contest 5-5.
The fourth
quarter began with an impressive goal by freshman Riley Kulm. It was not unanswered however with a Michigan goal made
seconds after. The game remained tied until Seidel scored his third goal of the
game. The Buffs lead held until Michigan tied up the contest again with a goal
made with 5:57 remaining. The Spartans broke the tie with a final goal bringing
the final score 7-8.
“We had a good
game, we came out not the best we have in the past. We put a lot of goals on
the net, which is nice. We played solid defense, kept them out and kept us in the
game. A common theme through out the season though was we just weren’t
finishing in the end of the game.,” said sophomore LSM Hayden McClain. “We
have a lot of people returning next year who really know the feeling of losing
in the first round which is an awful feeling so we’re going to come back with
some fire next year hopefully and go further.”
For senior Buffs
Marcus Alley and Danny Schatz this was their last
opportunity for a run at Nationals.
“The game was
definitely a blood bath. Its very surreal, very unexpected. But I’m very happy,
especially with the underclassmen they all stepped up. My first feeling
definitely wasn’t anger at the end of the game it was more rejoice. I was just
stoked to be around everybody and be where I am,” said Schatz “My time as a
Buff has just been awesome. Its been a whole other level this season and I’ve
never been with a group of guys that I’ve loved more or felt more strong
towards so I’ve definitely had more fun this season than I’ve ever had. This
season was fucking awesome.”
“We played
really well but the ball wasn’t going our way and we hit like 6 posts. I’m
really proud of our guys for staying with it and sticking it out for this past
season,” said senior captain Alley “After the University of Arizona game I thought
our season was over, we were like 3-5 at that point, but our guys stuck with it
and we made it to the National tournament. I love the guys, I love Coach
Galvin, he’s the best coach I’ve ever had and I’m excited for the future for
all of them.”
Scoring Summary
First Period
13:35 CU- Matt
White unassisted
13:17 CU- Riley
Seidel unassisted
5:19 CU-
Harrison Mallon, assisted by Riley Seidel
Second Period
13:48 MSU- Josh
Nemes, assisted by Spencer Martin
6:15 MSU-
Patrick Green, assisted by Spencer Martin
Third Period
12:33 CU- Tyler
Doughrety, assisted by Riley Seidel
12:04 MSU-
Steven Degenhardt unassisted
8:58 MSU- Wes
Binder unassisted
8:29 MSU- Tyler
Ryan, assisted by Spencer Martin
:02 CU- Riley
Seidel unassisted
Fourth Period
13:59 CU- Riley
Kulm unassisted
13:41 MSU- Josh
Nemes, assisted by Patrick Green
8:14 CU- Riley
Seidel, assisted by Tyler Doughrety
5:57 MSU-
Patrick Green, assisted by Spencer Martin
4:35 MSU- Josh
Nemes unassisted
Shots on Goal
MSU - 39
CU - 32
Power Plays
CU: 0-of-2
MSU: 0-of-2
