PHILADELPHIA — His teammates rushed the field. Christian Thomas headed in the other direction.
As was the case all season, Merrimack’s 16-8 victory over Limestone in the NCAA Division II men’s lacrosse final ended with the ball in the stick of one of the Thomas brothers. When the buzzer sounded, Thomas didn’t drop the ball and join the celebration. He didn’t launch the ball to the heavens in a fit of ecstasy.
He ran to the sideline and handed the ball to his coach.
“It just symbolized the end of Division II and the end of this run,” said Merrimack coach Mike Morgan. “He ran it over to make sure we had it.”
Merrimack (17-3) won their second and final Division II title. The Warriors are Division I’s problem now. They’ll join the Northeast Conference next year.
It was the second consecutive championship for the Warriors, who were playing in the final for the third straight year. The win avenged their loss to Limestone from the 2017 title game.
Charlie Bertrand led Merrimack with four goals and three assists. Christian Thomas had three goals and one assist. Dom Thomas added three goals and Sean Black had two goals and three assists. Nick Ponte made 12 saves.
The game marked the end of an era. Every national title game since 2014 has featured either Merrimack, Limestone or both.
“We’ve enjoyed beating Merrimack,” Limestone coach J.B. Clarke said. “We’re going to miss that. Coach Morgan is one of the coaches I really respect in our game, and I’ve created a relationship with him, although we go out and try to beat each other's brains in as competitors. I wish them all the best in Division I. We’re losing a great program for Division II, so that doesn’t make me happy.”
Merrimack dominated in the faceoff circle, as Davis Cronin won 18 of 27 draws.
“We’re not used to losing faceoffs like we did there,” Clarke said. “That's only happened to with us one other time. But when you give them double the possessions just off the faceoffs, they’re hard to defend.”
Bertrand, the Division II Player of the Year, was named tournament MVP. He finished the season with a program record 78 goals. Clarke respectfully said he would have that award to Davis, even if he didn’t exactly mention him by name.
“All due respect, I think the media got it wrong,” Clarke said. “While Bertrand is phenomenal and he had a great day, he doesn't do that if that kid doesn't win 18 faceoffs. I’m sorry, I don’t know his name, but I will after this.”
The Warriors outshot Limestone 47-33, including 13-3 in the final frame.
Christian Thomas opened the scoring early in the fourth quarter and Merrimack never trailed. The two sides traded goals until Drew Halley scored off an assist from Bertrand to give Merrimack a 4-3 lead with 12:41 remaining in the second quarter. It was the first of seven straight goals for the Warriors, who did not trail again.
Limestone outscored Merrimack 4-1 in the third quarter, pulling within 10-7 when Matt Bennett scored late in the frame, but the Warriors used a big fourth quarter to put the game away for good.
“Lacrosse is a game of runs for us,” Ponte said. “We talk about it all the time, weathering that storm. I’m going to get scored on. It’s going to happen. It’s lacrosse. We know we just have to grind it out, and then the offense will take care of it.”
Tyler Papa paired two goals with three assists to lead Limestone. Larson Sundown scored three goals.
A year after failing to reach the NCAA tournament Limestone finishes its season at 20-1.
“Losing like this is like grieving,” Clarke said. “You have to go through the process. They’re going to get mad. They’re going to get sad. They’re going to question things. But at the end, I want to make sure they have a clear understanding of the impact they’ve had on the Limestone lacrosse program and really the community, the school as a whole.”
Once the grieving process is over, Limestone will gear up and attempt to win its sixth NCAA title next season. Merrimack will not. As part of the transition to Division I, Merrimack will be ineligible for postseason play until 2023.
“It was the last game in Division II for myself as a senior but also for the rest of the team,” said Michael O’Connell, who had one goal. “I know these guys are going to great things next year. The transition is going to be very smooth for the team next year.”
The Warriors lost in the semifinals of their conference tournament, then defeated the top four teams in the country away from home to win the title.
“It’s a weirdly poetic road,” Morgan said. “I said to them, ‘You guys are writing the story here. This is the end. Write it how you want.’ This season will go down as something special. Last year, a lot of things broke our way. But I felt like we really earned this year.”
After Thomas gave him the ball, Morgan took it and put it in his bag. Eventually, it will find its way into a case on his desk — the desk of a Division I coach — as a reminder of where Merrimack came from.