Salisbury, N.C. —- The Catawba College men's lacrosse team wrapped up their 2023 campaign with a 12-10 win over Lincoln Memorial on Senior Day at Shuford Stadium in South Atlantic Conference men's lacrosse action. The Catawba Indians improve to 3-10 overall and 3-6 in the SAC, while the Railsplitters drop to 7-7 overall and 3-5 in league action.
Jared Hadley led Catawba offensively with two goals and three assists. Garret Simi added a pair of goals while Nick DiBitetto recorded six ground balls and Eli Horton forced four turnovers. James Crighton made 16 saves in goal for Catawba. Gavin Reid scored four goals for LMU.
Catawba's Keegan Maxwell opened up the scoring over 10 minutes into the game, giving Catawba an early 1-0 lead at the 4:14 mark before Reid answered just before the end of the period as the sides ended the first period tied at 1.
The teams opened up the scoring in the second period, combining for nine goals in the second quarter. Hadley answered an early Reid goal with back-to-back scores of his own, as Catawba took a 3-2 lead with just over 10 minutes remaining. After Reid scored for the third time in the opening 21 minutes, Catawba scored four unanswered goals to take a 7-3 lead with just over two minutes remaining. LMU's late goal cut their halftime deficit to 7-4.
Catawba extended its lead to five goals early in the third quarter as Simi and Bakari Neely found the back of the net, taking a 9-4 lead less than five minutes into the second half. The 'Splitters scored the final three goals of the third quarter, cutting their deficit to two goals with 15 minutes left.
Hunter Clarke and Frank Cetrone scored out of the gates in the fourth to return Catawba's lead to four, but LMU answered right back with two scores of their own. Joey Lindner scored a man-up goal with just over seven minutes remaining and LMU's Daniel Pearl cut LMU's deficit to two and Catawba was unable to find the back of the net the rest of the way.
Because of LMU's one-goal edge in the goal differential between the three teams that could potentially finish sixth in the conference, Catawba was eliminated from SAC Tournament contention despite the win.
