Teams from the Upper Midwest Lacrosse Conference (UMLC) earned the top four seeds at the 2019 MCLA National Championships in the Division II bracket powered by Under Armour and all four advanced to the quarterfinals with wins on Monday morning at the Salt Lake City Regional Athletic Complex.
The quartet will find out who they will face on Tuesday in the quarterfinals at the conclusion of Monday’s second session, which features the rest of the bracket.
No. 1 Minn-Duluth (12-1) d. No. 16 Bridgewater State (8-3), 15-7
The top-seeded Bulldogs started the game with a 5-0 blitz and never looked back in their matchup with Bridgewater State. Marcus Olson buried four goals while Jared Johnson chipped in with two goals and a dime and Scott McNamara added a pair. Blake Nastrom made 11 stops.
Cullen Murphy had four points (3g, 1a) for Bridgewater while Sean McGreal chipped in with a hat trick. Anthon Keyes had eight saves.
No. 2 St. Thomas (8-4) d. No. 15 UC San Diego (7-6), 17-2
Nick Bunde and Alex Vijums each recorded hat tricks and 12 different St. Thomas players played, leading the Tommies to a breezy, 17-3 win over UCSD.
St. Thomas led 10-1 after one period of play and coasted home. Patrick Jackson and Drew Bouman teamed up for 10 saves in the UST cage. Andy Moudakisi scored all three goals for the Tritons.
No. 3 Grand Valley State (8-2) d. No. 14 Missouri State (6-8), 14-6
A 5-0 Grand Valley State run to end the first half turned a tight contest after 15 minutes into a comfortable, 14-6, victory for the Lakers.
Zack Crawford paced Grand Valley with two goals and three assists while Nate Anderson notched a hat trick. Jake Prary and Cole Hyde had two goals and an assist each.
No. 4 Dayton (10-3) d. Montana (9-7), 10-7
Trailing 5-1 to Montana early in the second quarter, Dayton was facing the possibility of getting bounced out of the tournament in the first round for the second straight year. Thanks to four goals from Sam White along two goals and two assists from Joe Horvat, the Flyers rallied in the second half, outscoring the Grizzlies, 7-2, for a 10-7 victory.
Mitch Nietupski made 10 saves in the winning effort for Dayton while James Pierce led Montana offensively with a hat trick. Andrew Moesel stopped a dozen shots in the loss. Dayton will face the winner of the Utah State-North Florida game in the quarterfinals.
Stay tuned to Lacrosse All Stars for more coverage of the 2019 MCLA National Championships.
