The University of Scranton men’s lacrosse team clinched a playoff berth in the Landmark Conference championship with a 9-8 overtime win against Catholic University.
Freshman attacker Robby Napp netted his fourth goal of the game with 1:57 left in overtime during Saturday afternoon’s game in Washington DC.
Napp now leads the team with 29 goals on the season, with two game winning ones.
Napp also tied the game with 12:08 left in the fourth quarter on a pass from Nick Youngstrom.
The Royals took a 7-5 deficit into the locker room at half time, but were able to rally in the second half to force overtime.
The Royals held the Cardinals to just one goal in the final 33:03 of the game and out shot Catholic 39-27.
Youngstrom and freshman midfielder Mike Rufo each added a goal and an assist in the game.
Rufo has been impressive in his first season in Scranton. He is part of a heralded recruiting class brought in by third year head coach Kevin Dugan, and the freshman Rufo talked about his progress this season.
“I’ve become more confident in myself and more accustomed to my teammates way of play,” Rufo said.
“I now know what’s exactly expected from me so I can get the job done successfully.”
The Royals defeated local rival Marywood Tuesday night, with a 14-8 win at Fitzpatrick Field.
The game featured seven Royal goals in seven minutes, including two from by sophomore Christian Dugan during that span.
Brett Greer, Youngstrom and Napp scored two goals apiece while sophomore midfielder JP Barton, sophomore attacker Robert Pantages, senior midfielder Thomas Kornobis, sophomore attacker Kyle Frank, sophomore midfielder Keenan Dowd and sophomore attacker Ted Abbot contributed a goal each.
Scranton, which held a 44-22 advantage in shots and a 49-38 margin in ground balls, also received three assists from Rufo and two from Greer.
Kyle Frank talked about what it will take for the Royals to make a postseason run.
“In order to be successful and reach your goal you have to stay true to working hard because what you put in is what you’ll get out,” Frank said.
“It may not be easy, but it will definitely pay off.”
Royal sophomore goalie Jeremy Dowiak made eight saves in almost 57 minutes of action against Marywood.
Coach Dugan has made the postseason conference playoffs in all three of his seasons as the head coach of the men’s lacrosse team.
The Royals enter their last game of the season this weekend tied for third with Goucher College.
They will travel to Madison, NJ on Saturday to take on the Drew Rangers at 3:00 p.m.
THE STUDENT VOICE OF THE UNIVERSITY OF SCRANTON