via JU press release   PHOTO GALLERY (Photos courtesy of Keith Lucas)   RICHMOND, Va. – Coming off an overtime victory in the semifinal two days ago, Jacksonville University men’s lacrosse had its historic season cut short its first-ever appearance in the Southern Conference Tournament Championship game, Saturday afternoon at Robins Stadium. The #3 Dolphins battled tournament hosts and #1 Richmond to overtime, though today’s ending heartbreakingly fell in favor of the Spiders, 11-10. Following the game, seniors McLean Chicquen and Hunter Forbes, along with junior Hunter Sells, were named to the SoCon All-Tournament Team. The deciding goal came with 1:32 remaining in overtime as Richmond’s Ryan Lanchbury found Teddy Hatfield for the game-winner, ending an impressive sophomore campaign for the Dolphins under second-year head coach John Galloway. With an 8-7 record to close out the year, the 2018 Dolphins matched the program’s single-season win total as the program finished above .500 for just the second time in its nine-year history. “Today had all the makings of a championship game. In the end, we were a few missed plays away from an entirely different ending. However, that doesn’t change who this team is just because we didn’t score the last goal,” Galloway said following the game. “This is one of the most committed and enjoyable groups I have ever been around. They fought to the final whistle and left no stone unturned.” Jacksonville used a 6-1 run to erase an early 2-0 deficit in the first quarter, as junior Will Hendrickhad a hand in three of those six to help the Dolphins double up the Spiders, 6-3. Just 17 seconds into a Spider penalty, Chicquen dished to Hendrick, who finished high-to-low to get the Dolphins on the board at the 11:40 mark. Jacksonville’s next goal was monumental, as junior Eric Applegate became just the third Dolphin in program history to reach 100 career points. Working the ball around the perimeter, Applegate found sophomore Alec Drosos alone in front of the crease to tie the game at 2-2 with 9:55 on the clock. Applegate now sits at 50 goals and 50 assists in his career. Richmond found an answer 40 seconds later, but the Dolphins closed out the quarter with four-straight in the remaining 5:30. With five seconds left in JU’s second extra-man opportunity, Chicquen fired a pass to senior Shawn Ewert on the doorstep, who faked high left and went high right to spark the Dolphins’ run. The hero of Jacksonville’s semifinal with the OT game-winner two days ago, junior Evan Tyler drew a pair of Spider defenders and fed Hendrick for his second goal of the day with 4:11 left in the first. Less than two minutes later at 2:25, freshman Jeremy Winston dodged his defender and placed a shot just above Richmond keeper Blake Goodman’s right shoulder to keep the Dolphins rolling. Hendrick then dished to redshirt-senior Mitchell Parker, who closed out the run with an 11-yard laser past Goodman’s ankles. The Spiders chipped away in the second quarter, but it was junior goalie Hunter Sells who came up with a huge stop and began the sequence for Jacksonville’s next tally. Sells found freshman Jack Dolan near midfield, who dished to sophomore Dwayne Mattushik in the right alley to make it 7-4 in favor of the Dolphins. Richmond closed out the quarter with a pair of goals of their own to pull within one, 7-6, at halftime. Coming out of the break, Chicquen connected with Hendrick one final time at 13:34 to keep the Dolphins’ lead at two, 8-6. However, Richmond tied the game up on back-to-back goals from its duo of Mitches, Goldberg (11:26) and Savoca (4:19). With 13 seconds remaining in the quarter, Winston cut toward the left alley to create space and converted high to low to keep the Dolphins on top, 9-8. With his sixth goal and 11th point of the tournament, Chicquen extended the Dolphins’ lead once again to two, 10-8, just 52 seconds into the final quarter. Richmond then sent the game to extra time on a pair of goals from Ryan Lee at 3:45 and 1:27. Lee paced the Spiders with a game-high seven points (3g, 4a), while Savoca recorded a hat trick in the effort. Goodman finished the day with 11 saves between the pipes. Chicquen (1 goal, 3 assists) and Hendrick (3g, 1a) led the Dolphins behind four points each, while Winston added a pair of goals. Dolan and redshirt-freshman Tommy Barnhorst picked up three ground balls and caused a turnover each, while senior Ryan Beville also recorded a trio of ground balls. The Dolphins’ program leader at the dot, Forbes finished 16-of-25 on face offs with nine ground balls, while Sells recorded 10 saves in the loss. “I want to personally thank our 10 seniors for not only leading us this season, but setting the bar higher and changing the culture of our program for the better,” added Galloway. “Now, the 2019 season starts. We will get back to work as we identify our needs and make sure that we continue to build on the foundation laid by this group. I look forward to that challenge.”