Men’s Lacrosse: Highlanders Take Down Bryn Athyn in CSAC Semifinals, Advance to First-Ever Conference Championship Game
Story Re-Posted Courtesy of Cairn University Athletics - Original Here
LANGHORNE, Pa. – The No. 2 seed Cairn University men's lacrosse team defeated No. 3 seed Bryn Athyn College, 9-7, at home in the Colonial States Athletic Conference (CSAC) Semifinals on Wednesday evening. With the win, Cairn advances to it's first-ever conference championship game in just its second year of varsity competition.
Bryn Athyn (3-6) took an early 3-1 lead in the first quarter, before Cairn (6-6) responded with a three-goal stretch, including two tallies by junior Jonathan Balsamo (Long Island, NY / Eastport South Manor) and another by freshman Letoya Nyilinkindi (New York, NY / Grimsley) to take a 4-3 lead. The Lions answered with back-to-back goals, and led 5-4 at intermission. Cairn jumped out of the gates in the second half, recording the first three tallies of the third quarter, sparked by freshman Adain Holliday's (Manhattan, NY / Murry Bergtraum) first goal of the game, and led the Lions 7-6 heading into the fourth frame. Balsamo lit the lamp once again with 7:44 remaining, before Bryn Athyn cut the deficit to one (8-7) with 1:57 left to play. Balsamo sealed the win for Cairn at the 1:31 mark, scoring while the Highlanders were man-down to increase the advantage to two (9-7), and the Highlanders held on to win and advance to the conference title game.
Cairn out shots the Lions (34-25) and narrowly won the ground ball battle (40-38). Balsamo led the offensive output with a game-high seven goals to pace both teams. Freshman Cole Heffler (Eldersburg, MD / Central Maryland Christian) paced Cairn with two assists. Holliday won 13 of his 20 face-off chances and corralled a team-high 11 ground balls, while sophomore Qion Roycroft (Baltimore, MD / Woodlawn) earned a team-high four caused turnovers. Sophomore Nico Cione (Yardley, PA / Pennsbury) hauled in a game-high 12 saves, marking his sixth win between the pipes on the season.
As mentioned, the Highlanders advanced to their first-ever conference championship game, where they have a date with No. 1 seed Rosemont College in Rosemont on Saturday, April 29 with the conference title on the line at 2 p.m.