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Ryan Gebhardt's overtime goal gave Stevens a 10-9 comeback victory over Springfield in the most exciting game of the second round of the NCAA Division III Men's Lacrosse Championship. The Ducks trailed 9-4 in the third quarter before scoring the final six goals of the game. Gebhardt, a freshman attackman, had a hat trick for Stevens.

Sophomore goalie Jack Braswell, who had played less than 100 minutes for the season, entered the game with 11:12 to play in the third quarter and proceeded to blank Springfield for the final 27 minutes of the game, making five saves to earn the win for the Ducks.

There were no notable upsets in Wednesday's second round, but a few compelling games. One of the better matchups featured Ithaca bouncing back from a 23-3 drubbing to No. 1 RIT in the Liberty League championship game by beating Stevenson 15-12.

The Bombers trailed 7-6 at the half, but scored the first four goals of the second half to take a 10-6 lead and never trailed again. Connor Brumfield led Ithaca with three goals and four assists. Stevenson, which started the season 0-5 against a murderous schedule, had won 12 of 13 games entering the contest.

The Capital Athletic Conference (CAC) and the New England Small College Athletic Conference (NESCAC) each sent three teams to the Sweet 16.

Wesleyan, which began the season ranked No. 1 in the Nike/US Lacrosse rankings, was one of NESCAC teams moving on — posting a 16-12 win over Cortland State behind five goals from freshman Ronan Jacoby.

Also advancing from the NESCAC were Amherst, a 24-7 winner over Keene State, and Tufts, a 25-8 winner over Merchant Marine. Dylan Peabody had four goals and four assists in Amherst's win and Tufts outscored Merchant Marine 11-0 in the first quarter. Freshman Garrett Samuelson had a career-high six points (5g, 1a) for the Jumbos, the NESCAC champion and No. 2 ranked team in the Nike/US Lacrosse rankings.

Two-time defending national champion Salisbury opened its title defense with a 19-5 victory over Morrisville State to headline the CAC trio. The Gulls outscored Morrisville 8-0 in the opening quarter and were led Josh Melton (3g, 3a) and Garrett Reynolds (4g).

Also advancing from the CAC were York, which downed Western New England 15-7, and Christopher Newport, which beat Roanoke 17-11. Jake Hvazda had a hat trick as York pulled away from a 6-4 halftime lead. CNU earned its first-ever NCAA tournament victory and avenged a regular season loss to Roanoke behind a six-point afternoon from Matthew Crist (3g, 3a).

Highlights from Wednesday's other games:

  • No. 1 RIT steamrolled New England College 26-3, registering assists on all 26 goals. Ryan Tandy had a career-high nine points (5g, 4a)

  • Cabrini tied a school record with its 17th win, beating Colorado College 21-10. Timmy Brooks had five goals and Matt LoParo had a goal and five assists.

  • Gettysburg blanked Elizabethtown 6-0 in the first half on the way to a 15-3 victory. The three goals was a season-low for the Gettysburg defense, which got nine groundballs and five caused turnovers from senior Nick Hill.

  • Rhodes shut down Huntingdon 14-1 in a battle of teams playing in their first NCAA tournament. Steve Yowan scored the first two goals of the game and finished with a hat trick. Cameron Link made seven saves for the Lynx.

  • Max Tennant scored four times and Ohio Wesleyan shut out Aurora in the second and third quarters, posting a 13-5 victory.

  • Peter Pittroff poured in 12 points (5g, 7a) as Denison hammered Illinois Wesleyan 25-9. The Big Red scored 13 goals in the second quarter.

  • After Lynchburg scored five straight goals to pull within 12-11 in the fourth quarter, Dickinson answered with a four-goal run that helped seal a 16-12 victory. Tucker Carney had four goals for the Red Devils, including the goal that stopped Lynchburg's run.

  • Brothers A.J. and Taylor Witherell combined for seven goals as Washington and Lee beat Transylvania 23-5. The Generals scored the first eight goals of the game.

Second Round Scores

Amherst 24, Keene State 7
Cabrini 21, Colorado College 10
Christopher Newport 17, Roanoke 11
Denison 25, Illinois Wesleyan 9
Dickinson 16, Lynchburg 12
Gettysburg 15, Elizabethtown 3
Ithaca 15, Stevenson 12
Ohio Wesleyan 13, Aurora 5
Rhodes 14, Huntingdon 1
RIT 26, New England College 3
Salisbury 19, Morrisville State 5
Stevens Tech 10, Springfield 9 (OT)
Tufts 25, Merchant Marine 8
Washington and Lee 23, Transylania 5
Wesleyan 16, Cortland 12
York 15, Western New England 7

Third Round Schedule - May 12

RIT vs. Stevens Tech
York vs. Amherst
Wesleyan vs. Cabrini
Ithaca vs. Tufts
Gettysburg vs. Rhodes
Ohio Wesleyan vs. Denison
Dickinson vs. Washington and Lee
Christopher Newport vs. Salisbury