Lenoir-Rhyne University’s Joe Buduo scored twice and had an assist on Sunday against St. Leo in an NCAA Division II semifinal at Moretz Stadium. He finished the season with school records for goals (62) and total points (91)./LRU PHOTO
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HICKORY – A record-setting season for Lenoir-Rhyne University in men’s lacrosse came to an end Sunday just a step shy of playing in the NCAA Division II national championship match.
Visiting St. Leo never trailed in a back-and-forth national semifinal at Moretz Stadium, winning 12-11 to leave fifth-ranked LRU with a final 17-3 record.
St. Leo (16-2), ranked No. 6, faces No. 1 seed Merrimack (17-1) for the NCAA Division II championship on Sunday at 4 p.m. at Gillette Stadium in Foxborough, Mass.
Merrimack, from North Andover, Mass., defeated No. 2 Seton Hall 16-9 on Sunday to advance.
St. Leo jumped to an early 4-0 lead over the Bears in just under nine minutes. They were led by Kyle Pauwels and Matt Shand with two goals each.
Ten players scored for St. Leo.
Senior midfielder Ben Corrigan and junior midfielder Quinn Kuhn each had three goals for the Bears, who lost despite holding advantages in shots taken (59-30) and ground balls (40-30).
St. Leo goalkeeper Thomas Tatarian had 16 saves while Bears goalkeeper made 10 stops.
Junior forward Joe Buduo had two goals and an assist Sunday, finishing with school records in goals (62, leading the South Atlantic Conference) and total points (91).
Corrigan finished with three goals and four assists in back-to-back matches and had 14 points in two postseason matches. He scored 81 points for the Bears this season.
The loss dropped LRU to 40-6 in its last 46 matches, and the Bears set a school record for single-season wins.