The Lenoir-Rhyne Men’s Lacrosse Team knocked off top-seeded Rollins in convincing fashion on a warm Sunday afternoon in Florida, 14-8. The Bears were led by Evan Voss who broke a program record for most assists in an NCAA Tournament game with five and tied a record for most points in a tournament game with seven. LR advances to its third National Semifinal in program history and will face conference rival Limestone next Sunday in Gaffney, S.C.

Rollins took the early lead with back-to-back goals. Grant Hansen and Justin White gave the hosts a 2-0 lead just 3:45 into the game. LR would answer with a pair of goals from Evan Voss and Riley Seay to knot the game at two.

Rollins closed out the first frame with two goals in a 1:08 span and led 4-2 after one. The second quarter was all LR as they held Rollins scoreless and out shot the hosts 19-10 in the frame. The Bears outscored Rollins 5-0 in the second 15 minutes with a pair of goals coming from Myles Moffat.

Bryce Reece scored with 1:54 left to put the Bears up 7-4 heading into the break. LR held a 31-20 advantage in shots after 30 minutes and team two teams combined for just 11 turnovers.

LR came out of the gates with a quick goal to start the second half off the stick of Seay just 43 seconds in to push LR’s lead to 8-4. Rollins went on a quick 3-1 scoring spurt to cut it to 9-7 at the 6:58 mark of the third quarter but it was all LR from there.

A 5-0 run from LR made it 14-7 and put the game out of reach. Canata scored twice in that stretch and Voss had a goal and an assist. Rob Pensabene made 15 saves in goal to earn the victory. Matthew Mancini won 13-of-25 face offs and grabbed 11 ground balls.

SSC Player of the Year Shahe Katchadurian made seven saves for the hosts. Canata finished with a hat trick and Seay and Jarrett Huff had three points.

Opening face off temperature was 88 degrees.

This was the second-highest margin of victory for LR in an NCAA Tournament game. They defeated Wingate 18-10 in 2021. LR ended the Tars 10-game winning streak.

This was Rollins’ first NCAA Tournament appearance and game. LR is now 6-4 all-time in NCAA postseason play. This was LR’s second win in the state of Florida in five days as they beat Tampa on Wednesday, 10-9. LR moves to 6-5 all-time in the state of Florida.

The Bears went to National Semifinal games in 2018 and 2021. LR remains undefeated against Rollins, moving to 5-0 all-time. This was the first meeting between the two in Florida since a 13-12 LR win in 2011.

This was the first time LR has ever defeated the No. 2 ranked team in the national USILA poll. The Bears improve to 117-3 all-time when leading after three quarters.

With 24 points (14g, 10a), LR breaks the single-season team record for most points in a season with 497.

The Bears advance to play the South Region’s No. 2 seed Limestone in Gaffney on Sunday in the National Semifinal at 1 p.m. The winner moves on to the National Championship on May 28 in Philadelphia.