HICKORY, N.C. – The 10th-ranked UIndy men's lacrosse team (10-3) saw its season come to a close Sunday evening, falling 10-9 to No. 5 Wingate at the quarterfinals of the NCAA DII Championship. The Bulldogs (12-2) scored the game-winning goal with just 8.1 seconds left to earn their first-ever NCAA Tournament win and advance to next weekend's semifinal.
HOW IT HAPPENED
The Hounds got off to a slow start and found themselves down 8-3 early in the second quarter. They came storming back, however, ripping off five unanswered goals to knot it eight apiece. Freshman standout
Wyatt Auyer accounted for two of the goals in the run before finishing with team highs of three on the game and 29 on the season.
Wingate would go more than a full quarter's worth of action without a goal before finally ending the drought with 11:57 in the fourth quarter, taking a slim 9-8 lead.
It would be another 10 minutes before either team found the back of the net, but it was junior attacker
Drew Billig that came up clutch, curling around the right side of the cage before bouncing one in with 1:40 left to tie it at 9-9.
The Hounds would win the ensuing face-off but came up empty on the offensive end. But with the clock waning, they got the stop they needed, with a save as well as the ground ball.
Overtime would not come, however, as the Bulldogs managed to force a quick turnover and get the ball to a red-hot Danny Riley, who cashed in will his fourth and final goal of the night.
Freshman
Caleb Parker led all players with seven ground balls,
Austin Barnett amassed 11 and
Kyle Basch and
Dougie Crawford each caused three turnovers.
