SALT LAKE CITY – Adams State Men's Lacrosse had its 2019 season come to a close Friday afternoon as the team fell in the semifinal round to host Westminster College, 18-8. The Grizzlies finish the season with 3-10 overall record.
The Griffins (10-6) used a six-goal outing in the opening period help them secure the 10-goal win at home over the Grizzlies. Helping the Griffin offense dominate the game was a 55-29 overall shots lead including a 41-22 shots on goal edge.
The Grizzlies battled back in both halves of the game to get within four but the Griffins countered each time to keep any hopes of a comeback at bay.
A pair of goals in the first three minutes of action helped Westminster get out 2-0 on Adams State before the visitors got on the board.
Tanner Beck got Adams State on the board with a fast shot that found the back of the net.
Kage Janes got the assist as he found a cutting beck for the goal.
The Grizzlies goal came with 8:05 on the clock but the Griffins countered with a goal at the 6:57 mark on the clock. Defense kick in for both squads as the score remained 3-1 until there was just over two minutes to play in the opening frame.
The Griffins scored two goals in a span of 38 seconds to push their lead to 5-1 over the Grizzlies in the first. Their sixth goal of the period came with :52 on the clock which help them grab a commanding five-goal lead entering the second.
Adams State found an offensive groove to start the second period scoring two goals in the first four minutes to cut Westminster's lead to three, 6-3. Janes found
Emmitt MacFarlane who sent a quick shot pass the goalie for the second Adams State goal.
Jacob Austin cut the Grizzlies deficit to three with 11:55 to play in the first half as
Kale Wilson found him for the goal. The Grizzlies were within striking distance but the home team countered scoring the next four goals to take a 10-3 lead into the halftime break.
Helping the Griffins offense stay out in front of the Grizzlies was 9-6 advantage in faceoffs in the first half. They also had a 28-20 advantage in groundballs that helped both the offense and defense.
Westminster wasted little time extending the lead to start the third as the team scored back-to-back goals before the Grizzlies answered. Both goals came within 61 seconds of each other and Adams State found itself trailing 12-3 early in the third.
Looking to find a rhythm on offense, Wilson scored the Grizzlies first three goals of the second half. His first came with 11:57 on the clock as he blew by the Griffins defense for the score. Just over two minutes later Janes found him for his second goal of the contest to cut the Grizzlies deficit to seven, 12-5.
Neither team scored again until there was under four minutes to play in the period as both defenses looked to make statements in the semifinal round. The Griffins ended the scoring drought with a goal at the 3:45 mark to push their lead to eight goals, 13-5.
Wilson scored his third straight goal on a man-up opportunity. He found the back of the net with 60 seconds left to play in the period. His goal got the Grizzlies back within seven, but the Griffins scored a goal 22 seconds later to stay up by eight, 14-6, going into the fourth.
The Griffins controlled the fourth frame as they outscored the Grizzlies 4-2 to secure the 10-goal win. They scored three straight before the Grizzlies managed to counter. Their defense also held the Grizzlies without a goal for over 10 minutes.
Riley Morrison ended the drought with a man-up goal on an assist from Janes with just over three minutes left in regulation. The Griffins added their final goal with 1:52 on the clock to lead by 11, 18-7. Morrison scored one more time with :44 on the clock on the assist from Austin to bring the final score to 18-8.
Wilson and Janes each finished with four points to lead the Adams State offense. Wilson scored three goals to go along with an assist, while Janes tallied four assists. Morrison also had multiple goals scoring two.
Roman Pepelyaev had a team-high nine groundballs and was 12-22 in faceoffs for the game. Eight different players had one caused turnover for the Grizzlies defense. In net,
Brendan Williams had 23 saves.
Nick Marcy scored five goals for the Griffins in the win. Blake Gross was one goal behind him with four as the duo each had a hat trick to lead the offense. Grant Phillips and Spencer Whinery each had five groundballs to help on both sides of the ball.
Mitchell Senour only had five faceoff attempts for Westminster but won all five to lead the team. Phillips also helped anchor the defense with three caused turnovers. Goalie Sean Edwards tallied 10 saves as he pick up the win.
