IRVINE, Calif. -
Griffin Moore's overtime goal sent No. 16 Flagler College over No. 18 Concordia University Irvine, 7 -6, in the play-in round of the NCAA Division II National Tournament this evening.
Hosting the opening round, Flagler traveled California and returned with the program's first NCAA tournament win. Defeating their second ranked opponent on the year, the Saints moved to a 12-5 record while the Golden Eagles fell to 11-7. Flagler will have a short turn around as they travel back home then to No. 1 in the region and No. 2 nationally, University of Tampa. The Saints-Spartans rematch will be held at the Naimoli Family Athletic Complex and begin on Sunday, May, 10 at 1 PM.
A defensive bout saw the Saints hold the Golden Eagles to their lowest scoring game of the season. Entering the match, CUI averaged 14.35. The backbone of the Saints defense, Sophomore
Jonah Smith saved 10 shots. This is the most saves Smith had since the Saints played Colorado Mesa University where he had 18 and this is the second time he had double digit saves.
Nearly a perfect game on both sidelines, Flagler finished with three total turnovers while Concordia Irvine had four. Freshman Connor Delz was the lone Saint to cause a disturbance as he caused one turnover. On the Golden Eagles side, no player caused a turnover.
Tyler Hayden and
Gordon Ogden III finished with a team high two ground balls. Hayden also finished as the lead man taking face, as he won five of his 12 faceoff attempts.
Trading goals, no team lead by more than a goal until the end of regulation. Scoring the first and last goal before overtime hit was
Trace McDonald.
Ben Nyberg and Moore were the only two remaining Saints to score two goals.
Jack Pilla dominated as a distributor and scorer this game as he finished with three points. Pilla's two assist, one goal performance is his fifth three point game in seven games.
The Golden Eagles were led by Jeremy Barnes and Jack Lepore, Barnes and Lepore each scored two goals, while Barnes notched one assist. Parker Teel and Matt Carresi both scored one goal while Carresi had a team high two assists. At faceoff, Dawson Loudermilk was near perfect, winning 7-9 while also grabbing eight ground balls.
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