Mike Scrafano vs. John Carroll 5/8/18
Patrick Blain
6
John Carroll JCU 13-5
9
Winner Elizabethtown ETOWN 10-9
John Carroll JCU
13-5
6
Final
9
Elizabethtown ETOWN
10-9
Winner
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 3 4 F
John Carroll JCU 0 5 1 0 6
Elizabethtown ETOWN 2 3 1 3 9

Game Recap: Men's Lacrosse |

Blue Jays strike late for program's first NCAA tournament victory

GETTYSBURG, Pa. -- Elizabethtown scored the only three goals of the fourth quarter, and did so in the final 3:27 to defeat John Carroll, 9-6, Tuesday afternoon in an NCAA Division III Championship First Round game at Gettysburg.

Both teams played suffocating defense in the second half, leading to tense moments down the stretch.

Andrew Watts and Colin Corcoran traded third quarter goals as a 5-5 game at the half turned to 6-6 after three.

The score remained that way until sophomore attack Mike DiGenova spun around the left edge of the crease and fought through a stick check to score the go-ahead, and eventually game-winning, goal with the 30-second timer on at 3:27 of the fourth quarter.

Kyle Pienik was huge in crunch time, winning the next two face-offs. Each possession resulted in Elizabethtown (10-9) goals, helping put the game away.

Just 32 seconds after DiGenova gave the Blue and Gray a 7-6 lead, Austin Dews located Brandon Sankey for a two-goal advantage.

Mike Scrafano scored into a gaping net with 1:33 to go to cap a hat trick and the Blue Jays were on their way to the first national tournament victory in the program's 17-year history.

E-town, making its second NCAA Championship tournament appearance all-time, will play in the second round for the second time in as many seasons when it faces host and third-ranked Gettysburg Wednesday at 4 p.m.

The Blue Jays got off to a great start against a vaunted Blue Streaks (13-5) defense that came in ranked 34th in Division III in scoring defense at 7.47 goals allowed per contest.

Freshman Cameron Goodling finished a pass from DiGenova at 8:19 of the first for a 1-0 Elizabethtown lead.

Scrafano took advantage of the only penalty called in Tuesday's game to put the Jays up a pair with his fourth man-up goal of the year five minutes later.

Macgregor Roberts and Corcoran only needed 66 seconds early in the second quarter to erase E-town's lead.

The Blue Jays showed they could score in quick succession, too. Scott Nizolak and Scrafano answered with goals 36 seconds apart to restore E-town's two-goal edge, 4-2.

Much to John Carroll's preference, the second quarter proved to be free flowing for the offenses throughout.

While the first and third quarters featured two goals each and the fourth didn't see its first goal scored until the final 3:30, the second produced eight goals between the two sides.

Corcoran started a run of three straight for the Blue Streaks. Skyler Blake tied the game at four with 4:36 left and JCU took its only lead of the game on a Connor Pike blast at 3:23.

Sankey took a pass from Dews and snuck a ball past Blue Streaks starting goalie Jacob Betz in the final minute to even the score at halftime.

It was a defensive showdown from there and the Blue Jays came out on top. Kyle Coats had a pair of caused turnovers and E-town once again prided itself on cutting off an opponent's top scoring threats.

JCU's Brendan Whitty came into Tuesday's game with a team-high 70 points, but didn't produce a single one on four shots. Blake scored a lone goal after tallying 43 times between the regular season and conference tournament.

The Blue Streaks' offense, which ranked 21st in DIII, was held more than eight goals below its 14.53 season average. Elizabethtown also curbed JCU's fifth-ranked man-up offense by not committing a single penalty.

Tom Mahoney was his usual self, making a number of impressive saves in the Blue Jay cage and totaling 11 overall.

Pienik ended the day with six face-off victories on 15 tries, while Michael Hofstedt was 2-of-4. Rookie Alec Leslie picked up a team-high four ground balls.

Sankey (two goals, assist) and Scrafano (three goals) paced the Jays' offense. DiGenova (goal, assist), Watts (goal, assist) and Dews (two assists) also produced multi-point games.

The Blue Jays outshot JCU 29-24 and committed a season-low 12 turnovers. The Blue Streaks held a slight 22-19 edge in ground balls.

Elizabethtown, which fell to Franklin & Marshall 11-8 in last year's NCAA Second Round, can advance to the Third Round with a win over Gettysburg on Wednesday.
 
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