The Genesee Community College men’s lacrosse team fell to Onondaga Community College in the semifinals of the NJCAA National Tournament on Saturday afternoon at Nassau Community College in Garden City, New York.
Genesee, the at-large team in the Final Four, gave up the first goal of the game to the top team in the tournament just seven seconds into the first quarter. Onondaga scored six times in the opening frame and led 6-0 at the start of the second.
Genesee had the man advantage early on in the second period but could not break through. After returning to full strength, Onondaga found the back of the net twice in a span of five seconds to increase their lead to 8-0.
Steven Riamondi (Amherst, NY) got GCC on the board with a goal at the 4:22 mark of the second quarter, and then Gaehnew Printup (Tuscarora, NY) scored short-handed less than a minute later to get Genesee back to within six at 8-2. Onondaga added a goal with about four minutes remaining in the first half and took a 9-2 lead into the break.
(Members of the GCC men's lacrosse team celebrate #23 Steven Riamondi's first half goal against Onondaga Community College on Saturday afternoon)
OCC started strong in the second half, scoring three goals in the first three minutes of the third quarter and opened up a ten-goal, 12-2 lead. Trailing 14-2, Connor Latimer (Whitby, ON) assisted Printup on his second goal of the game to make it 14-3.
Spencer Halliwell-Allen (St. Catherines, ON) answered an early fourth quarter OCC goal with his first goal of the game to make it 15-4 with just under eight minutes to play. He added another goal just two minutes later before Printup followed with his third goal of the game to make it 15-6. Both teams would play a scoreless three-minutes to end the game, and Onondaga advances with a 15-6 victory.
Genesee ends the season with a 15-4 overall record after advancing to the NJCAA National Tournament for the second straight season. They were Western New York Athletic Conference Champions and reached the Final Four of the Region III Tournament. Onondaga Community College will play for their fourth straight NJCAA National Title and sixth in the last seven years against the winner of Nassau Community College and the Community College of Baltimore County-Essex tomorrow at 1pm.
