The Hawkeyes and Buffaloes won in convincing fashion to advance to the 2024 Mearns Cup Finals. The championship game is set for Friday at 6:00 p.m. at The Classic Rink in East Aurora.
The Hawkeyes knocked off the Rapids 14-7 to reach the Upstate Collegiate Box Lacrosse League Finals for the fourth straight season. The Hawkeyes, who have captured three-time regular season titles, are attempting to win their third straight Mearns Cup.
“It was a good effort from our guys under some pretty warm playing conditions,” said Hawkeyes head coach Dan Coates. “I thought we had a good start, but then we got away from our game a bit in the second quarter. I really liked how we responded in the second half. The boys took care of business, and we’re looking forward to competing in another league championship.”
The Rochester team broke open a 6-5 game by stringing together six straight goals over the middle two quarters to cruise to victory. Thomas Gravino scored two of his team-high five goals during the run. He also opened the game by assisting on the opening goal and then scoring back-to-back tallies. The Hawkeyes were also powered by the duo of Zachary Terry (4+1) and Nate Senez (2+4), who combined for 11 points.
“We knew this could be our last game, so we played for the guy next to us and played our game,” said Gravino.
The first-place Hawkeyes will now take on the second-place Buffaloes. The Buffaloes defeated the Armory 12-7 to reach the Finals for the first time in team history. Dylan Snow led the way with four goals and four assists. Kelvin Jonathan also scored two goals and added four assists.
The Buffaloes fell behind early, 3-0 and 4-2, but roared back by scoring the game’s next nine goals to take an 11-4 lead in the fourth quarter. Snow scored three times during the comeback as the Buffaloes received scoring from six different players. Jarrod Brant picked up the win in goal with 29 saves.
The Armory would notch three late goals to narrow the gap. Clifford Gaston led his team with two goals and one assist. In goal, William Dempsey turned away 29 shots.
After earning their first postseason win in team history, the Buffaloes will try to capture their first Mearns Cup championship.
“Overall, it was a good win for the team. We came in with what we thought was a pretty good game plan, and our guys were able to execute it well,” said Buffaloes coach Ethan O’Connor. “It took a bit to get started by going down three early, but I think we showed how resilient of a team we are and how our style of play can change the game in an instant. It’s fun to be around this group and I’m glad we get one more game together to play for the championship.”