GALLOWAY, N.J. – Beacons lacrosse saw their historic season come to a close at the hands of perennial powerhouse SUNY Cortland as the Red Dragons handed UMB a 24-6 loss in the Beacons NCAA Tournament debut Saturday afternoon at G. Larry James Stadium on the campus of Stockton University.

THE BASICS

UMass Boston 6, SUNY Cortland 24

UMass Boston (9-1)
SUNY Cortland (11-3)

HOW IT HAPPENED

The Beacons close out the 2021 campaign with an impressive 9-1 mark, the best finish to a season in over 20 years.  Amongst those nine wins, the Beacons hoisted the program's first-ever Little East Conference Regular Season and Tournament Championships.  They also registered the first undefeated LEC record in program history.  Head coach Tyler Low was named the LEC Coach of the Year for the second time since 2017.

While the Beacons were making their first-ever trip to the NCAA Tournament, the Red Dragons were making their 27^th as a program.  SUNY Cortland, who owns multiple NCAA Division III National Championships, dominated the first quarter of the contest with eight goals, while the Beacons registered their first NCAA Tournament goal, thanks to Gavin Admirand (Marshfield, Mass.).

The second stanza was a much a closer affair with the Beacons cutting the deficit to five after netting back-to-back goals.  Darragh Fahey (Walpole, Mass.) and Conor Lenfest (Waltham, Mass.) each found the back of the cage in the first two minutes of the second.  Lenfest and Fahey each recorded two goals on Saturday.

However, the Red Dragons would score four unanswered goals to head into the break with a 12-3 lead.

They would then all but secure the tournament win scoring eight more times in the third and four in the fourth.  The Beacons netted just one goal in the third and two in the final frame.

In his NCAA Tournament debut, freshman Christian Meinhold (Boxborough, Mass.) was solid between he pipes as he made 22 saves, two short of his career-high.  Saturday's loss marked the first of the year for Meinhold.

Chris Palin (West Bridgewater, Mass.) led the Beacons defense with three caused turnovers, while face-off man Jack Dobrzynski (West Greenwich, R.I.) went 11-for-29 with five groundballs.

BY THE NUMBERS

• Saturday's contest marked the final in the careers of Jack Riley (Wrentham, Mass.), Charlie Cook (Bedford, Mass.), and Cam Ford (Worcester, Mass.)
• The Red Dragons outshot the Beacons 61-35 and held a 49-23 advantage in groundballs
• UMass Boston was 20-for-31 on clear attempts
• The Beacons were 1-for-4 on man-up opportunities, but were hit for a season-high 10 penalties (9:00)