SLAUSON AND CARROLL PACE SAINTS TO LIBERTY LEAGUE REGULAR SEASON TITLE

Apr. 28: The No. 6 St. Lawrence University men’s lacrosse team clinched the top seed in the 2007 Liberty League Tournament with a convincing 14-6 victory over previously-unbeaten Skidmore on Saturday afternoon at North Country Field. The win on “Senior Day” gave the Scarlet and Brown their second straight regular season conference championship with an overall record of 12-1 and a perfect 6-0 mark in conference play.

The game didn’t start out as planned for the Saints, as Rob Lutin took a pass from Matt Ward and beat senior goaltender Justin Demuth to give the Thoroughbreds the early 1-0 lead less than a minute into the game. The visitors appeared to make it 2-0 at 3:01 when Yosef Becher beat Demuth after picking up a ground ball in front of the goal. However, after the officials checked Becher’s stick, they ruled it to be illegal, thus disallowing the goal and giving the player a one minute penalty.

The fortunate break was all the Saints would need, as they erupted for eight straight goals to grab an 8-1 cushion midway through the second quarter. Sophomore Peter Carroll single-handedly got things started, scoring three consecutive goals in a span of 3:15 to give the Saints a 3-1 lead. The Pennington, NJ native backed down a defender to the right of the cage, and flicked a shot past Skidmore goalie John Capitani’s stick to even the score at 1-1.

Less than three minutes later, Carroll gave the Saints a lead they would never relinquish when he and junior Kevin Russell ran a beautiful give-and-go from behind the net, with Carroll burying the shot from just outside the crease for a 2-1 lead. He completed the first quarter hat trick only 45 seconds later when he ripped a shot in midair that clanked off the right post, off Capitani’s back and across the goal line. The fortunate bounce closed the opening quarter’s scoring with the Saints ahead 3-1.

St. Lawrence would assert themselves as the conference’s powerhouse in the battle of the undefeated in the second quarter, as they managed to outscore Skidmore by a 6-1 margin. Senior Brendan Lynch opened the second quarter scoring 48 seconds in with a powerful shot that Capitani couldn’t handle for the 4-1 lead.

Sophomore Alex Slauson, who has come on as one of the Saints most productive offensive weapons this season, continued his recent success with his first goal of the afternoon at 2:33 of the second. Lynch found Slauson in the slot, and the Shelburne, VT native did the rest, making a strong move to his right past a defender and sending a rocket over the goalie’s stick.

After sophomore Kyle Benton scored with 11:32 to play in the quarter to make the score 6-1, the Saints found themselves with a man-up opportunity after a penalty to Skidmore’s David Leibovitz. Russell used the hidden-ball trick, faking a touch pass to a teammate and sending a crisp pass to a wide open Will McKee in front of Capitani. The goaltender had little chance, as McKee finished the play to put the home team on top 7-1. St. Lawrence’s run of eight straight goals, manufactured much in thanks to unselfish play, was completed by McKee after taking a great pass from Slauson and slipping a shot behind Capitani.

Skidmore would break the string of goals when John Kotsinonos scored an unassisted goal with 5:35 to play in the first half, cutting the lead back to six at 8-2. However, Slauson responded with his second of the day, rifling a jumping shot into the right side of the goal, putting the Scarlet and Brown ahead 9-2 at the end of the first half.

St. Lawrence held a 24-8 advantage in shots at the half, and forced Capitani to make five saves to Demuth’s zero. The Saints were also winning the majority of ground ball chances, tallying 17 to Skidmore’s seven.

Slauson continued to pour on the offense 5:46 into the third quarter, as he completed his hat trick and gave the Saints a 10-2 lead. After Nick Coppola took a pass from Chuck McNeil and sent a low shot that beat Demuth with 3:43 left in the third, it was again the Saints that rebounded with a late goal to regain the momentum heading into the final fifteen minutes. After a great save by Demuth with eighteen seconds to go in the quarter, the Saints snagged the loose ball and headed up field. The attack worked in transition, as quick “tic-tac-toe” passing gave Russell an open-net goal for the 11-3 advantage with only nine seconds to play in the quarter.

Though the Thoroughbreds continued to battle in the fourth quarter, the deficit was simply too much against the Saints suffocating defensive unit. Skidmore would net three goals in the quarter, two from Tom Levesque and one from McNeil, but senior Andy Centauro’s man-up goal with 3:44 remaining put the game away and gave the Saints their 14-6 lead and their second straight regular season title. Junior Ben Prime and Slauson also scored goals in the fourth quarter for St. Lawrence.

The Saints finished with a dominant 45-21 shot advantage and a 30-15 edge in ground balls. Capitani was solid for the Thoroughbreds, making twelve saves in the losing effort, while Demuth made three stops and improved to 10-1 on the season.

The road to the 2007 Liberty League championship could very well run through Canton, NY, as the top-seeded Saints will host No. 4 seed Rensselaer in the semifinals on Friday, May 4th at 4:00pm. The other semifinal match-up pits No. 2 Skidmore at home against No. 3 Clarkson, with the highest remaining seed hosting the Championship game on Sunday, May 6th at noon.