Competing in its first ever Southern Conference Tournament, the VMI lacrosse team held its own against #11 Jacksonville, but ultimately fell by a 13-5 score in the semifinal round Thursday night at Vert Stadium in High Point, N.C.
The Dolphins (14-2) led 10-4 going into the final quarter before VMI (4-11) freshman Luke Rusterucci scored at the 10:16 mark to give VMI momentum with 10 minutes left on the clock. Jacksonville clamped down on defense to limit VMI’s opportunities the remainder of the game while scoring three security goals over the final seven minutes to put the game out of reach.
Jacksonville won 16 of 20 faceoffs and outshot the Keydets by a 47-33 margin. The Dolphins also went 2-for-4 on extra-man opportunities while holding VMI scoreless on three extra-man occurrences.
“I’m proud of our guys for playing tough and giving us a chance in the fourth quarter,” said VMI head coach James Purpura. “With 10 minutes left we were within striking distance at 10-5 but ultimately we couldn’t capitalize on offense to get it any closer. We had our chances against a talented and athletic opponent like Jacksonville, but we needed to execute and finish more often. I was really proud of our young defensive unit who played well and gave us some big stops.
“On offense, we had some opportunities but didn’t finish enough of them. We also struggled at the face off X, which allowed Jacksonville to dominate possession time. Overall, I’m proud of this group and, in particular, our senior class. They have done a great job of leading a young team and setting a foundation for the program moving forward.”
Rusterucci, Scout Ripley, Hartley Jordan, Jack Burke and Kyle Webster scored VMI five goals over the course of the match. Ripley led the Keydets with nine shot attempts on the evening while Jordan tallied seven.
Jacksonville was paced by SoCon Freshman of the Year Jackson Intrieri, who logged a hat trick as well as Jacob Greiner. Max Waldbaum accounted for two scores while five other scored solo goals to yield the Dolphin victory.
In a complete game in the cage, VMI goalie Jack Liselli registered 14 saves in the contest while Jacksonville’s Luke Millican logged 10 in 54 minutes of action.
Jacksonville moves on to face Richmond for the SoCon Tournament championship Saturday at noon. The Spiders took down host High Point, 12-11, in the semifinal following the VMI-Jacksonville game.
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