(7) Men's Lacrosse jumped ahead of Ottawa University on Saturday and never looked back as they advanced to the Semifinals of the 2021 KCAC Men's Lacrosse Championships.
In a rematch of each team's regular-season finale, Benedictine made it two straight over Ottawa with a 19-11 win.
Jack Kandoth ignited the Ravens offensively scoring the first two and three of the Ravens five first-quarter goals. Leading 5-3 after the first quarter, the Ravens added six second-quarter goals to take an 11-5 lead into halftime.
Benedictine limited Ottawa to just 11 first-half shots as they held a 35-11 advantage at the break. Defensively, the Ravens limited the Braves offensive possessions in the first half negating the impact of KCAC leading scorer Brand DeMarco.
The Ravens extended their lead to 16-5 heading into the final 15 minutes of the game as they continued to limit what the Braves could do offensively. Ottawa managed just three third-quarter shots.
In the fourth quarter, the Braves finally found their offensive rhythm. They took control of possession, winning 6 of 10 fourth-quarter faceoffs which led to DeMarco finally finding the back of the net. Ottawa finished the fourth quarter with six goals, four coming from DeMarco who matched Robert Roseberry for a team-high total for Ottawa.
Sean Molyneux scored a game-high 6 goals for the Ravens while Brady Guck and Kandoth finished with 4. James Carson and Jordan Rodriguez added 2 goals while Aiden Richardson added 1. Joseph Doyle recorded 2 assists while Rodrigeuz and Kandoth finished with 1 each.
Duncan Loud played all 60 minutes in goal for the Ravens, recording 11 saves in the win.
Keaton Carney led the defensive effort with 5 caused turnovers while Tyler Santini added 3. Benedictine forced Ottawa into a total of 33 turnovers. Joseph Bianchi finished the game-winning 16 of 29 faceoffs, which allowed Benedictine to gain the possession advantage for much of the game.
Benedictine advances to the Semifinal round at 1 p.m. Thursday back on Legacy Field as Benedictine serves as the host school for the 2021 KCAC Lacrosse Championships. The Ravens will take on St. Ambrose University, the No. 2 seed in the tournament as the Fighting Bees advanced with a 21-9 win over Missouri Valley College on Saturday.
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