Georgian Court Makes it Two CACC MLAX Titles in a Row with Thrilling 11-10 Triumph over CHC
LAKEWOOD, N.J. (May 4, 2019) -- Georgian Court University made it two titles in a row on Saturday with a thrilling 11-10 come-from-behind win over Chestnut Hill College in the 2019 Central Atlantic Collegiate Conference (CACC) Men's Lacrosse Championship at the GCU Turf Field in Lakewood, N.J. It marked the second-consecutive season GCU claimed a narrow win over the Griffins in the CACC final, that was played quite well by both sides.
In a closely-contested affair throughout, the two foes opened the match tied 2-2 after the initial first period of play. Georgian Court proceeded to double up the Griffins by a 4-2 count in the second frame to carry a slight 6-4 surplus into the halftime break.
An unassisted tally from Brandon Razler (two goals, three assists) 2:29 into the third stanza pushed the Lions' lead to 7-4 before Chestnut Hill countered with fifth unanswered to go ahead by a pair (9-7) with 14:08 remaining in regulation. Goals from Carson Rees provided a bookend for the CHC run, as Ben Revak, J.R. Howell and Scott Wilden also threw home strikes during the surge.
Head Coach Mickey Hover and his squad kept calm and made the necessary adjustments in a hurry as the Lions launched a 4-0 fourth-quarter flurry to push ahead, 11-9, with just 2:37 to go.
Rees provided an anxious moment for the Lions as the sophomore's game-high fifth goal off a rebound following an Austin Geissel save inched Chestnut Hill to within just one with just 48 seconds remaining on the clock. The Griffins (11-5), however, could not muster up the equalizer as the Lions were able to run out the clock to set off a celebration.
Devin Bell made the most of his opportunity in the win as the freshman poured in a team-best four goals for the Lions. Tanner Lee contributed a pair of tallies and two helpers for the victors. Erick Santamaria and Ryder Verdoni each scooped six ground balls apiece for the royal and gold.
Geisel, who earlier this week was named the CACC Player and Goalkeeper of the Year, added Tournament MVP to his already-stellar resume as the junior net-minder turned away a flurry of Chestnut Hill shots (24 saves) in the complete-game win. His counterpart, CHC goalie Austin Jones, suffered the tough loss, but made some brilliant saves in the second half while the Griffins were mounting their 5-0 surge to go ahead.
2019 CACC MEN'S LACROSSE CHAMPIONSHIP ALL-TOURNAMENT TEAM
Ryan Fischer (Dominican)
Casey Brown (Chestnut Hill)
Carson Rees (Chestnut Hill)
Connor Crawford (Chestnut Hill)
Ben Revak (Chestnut Hill)
Austin Geissel (Georgian Court)
Tanner Lee (Georgian Court)
Devin Bell (Georgian Court)
Brandon Razler (Georgian Court)
Erick Santamaria (Georgian Court)
MVP: Austin Geissel
ABOUT THE CACC
The Central Atlantic Collegiate Conference is an NCAA Division II Conference composed of 14 institutions in Connecticut, Delaware, New Jersey, New York, and Pennsylvania. The member institutions are Bloomfield College, Caldwell University, Chestnut Hill College, Concordia (N.Y.) College, Dominican (N.Y.) College, Felician University, Georgian Court University, Goldey-Beacom College, Holy Family University, Jefferson (Philadelphia University + Thomas Jefferson University), Nyack College, Post University of Waterbury, University of the Sciences, and Wilmington University.