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Smithfield, RI – Senior Dave Morton (Orangeville, Ontario/The Hill School) scored the game-winner with just 46 seconds remaining in the fourth quarter as the Robert Morris men’s lacrosse team rallied to defeat Quinnipiac 15-14 in the Northeast Conference Men’s Lacrosse Tournament Semifinals on Thursday afternoon in Smithfield, RI.
 
The Colonials, who improve to 8-6 overall, will now face tournament host and defending league champion Bryant for the title on Saturday, May 4, at 1 pm. Quinnipiac ends its season with a 6-8 record.
 
Morton, who finished the three goals and six points, punched the Colonials’ ticket to their first championship game after burying a rebound on the crease, capping off a 6-4 run in the fourth quarter, and a 14-7 streak dating back to the second when they trailed 7-1.
 
Robert Morris overcame the early deficit with seven straight goals that bridged the second and third frames, giving the Colonials an 8-7 lead with less than six minutes elapsed in the third. Freshman Eric Rankel (Philadelphia, PA/Downingtown West) played a big role, scoring three of his NEC Tournament-record six goals during the streak. It broke the previous record of five goals in a game set twice by NEC Offensive Player of the Year Andrew Scalley of Mount St. Mary’s and former Bobcat Jack Oppenheimer in 2011.
 
Quinnipiac stifled the momentum with back-to-back goals three minutes apart and finished the frame on a 3-1 run to regain the lead, at 10-9, to set up a wild fourth quarter.
 
Rankel opened the frame by striking three straight times over a span of two minutes and 35 seconds during a four-goal RMU run. QU then took over with a 4-1 roll, including consecutive goals by Jake Emms (Victoria, British Columbia/Claremont School) and Michael Sagl (West Islip, NY/West Islip) eight seconds apart that tied the game at 14-all with 1:32 remaining.
 
For the Bobcats, Sagl led the team with an NEC Tournament-record seven points on the strength of four goals and three assists. Three his scores came in the first half when QU ran out to a 7-1 lead in the first 25 minutes.
 
Pat Corcoran (Stratford, CT/St. Joseph’s) and Dylan Webster (Brampton, Ontario/St. Edmund Campion S.S.) both recorded two goals and three points. Basil Kostaras (Southlake, TX/Episcopal) had three assists, while Matt Diehl (Towson, MD/Calvert Hall) had three points as well, netting one goal and two assists.
 
Tyler Digby (Westminster, British Columbia/New Westminster) provided RMU with three points on a one-goal, two-assist effort, while Luke Laszkiewicz (Oshawa, Ontario/Westminster) scored once and assisted on another.
 
Defensively, Quinnipiac’s All-NEC First Team goalkeeper Gill Conners (Ballston Spa, NY/Saratoga) posted 16 saves, including several on great scoring chances. RMU’s Charles Ruppert (Long Island, NY/Massapequa) made 12 stops, seven of which came in the fourth quarter.
 
Robert Morris outshot Quinnipiac 49-39 for the game. QU held advantages in ground balls (46-43) and faceoffs (22-32). Webster won 20 attempts and scooped up 17 ground balls.