CANTON — With his hair matted down with sweat and blood covering his chin, St. Lawrence University sophomore Will McKee cradled the Liberty League men's lacrosse championship trophy in one arm as he walked into Appleton Arena after Sunday's title game.
The top-seeded Saints won the title for a third straight year, beating No. 3 Union 10-9. And it was McKee who carried the team when they needed it most.
Top-seeded SLU (11-2) had routed the Dutchmen 17-3 on April 19 during the regular season. But Union (12-4) was not a pushover in Sunday's game, scoring the first three goals and then building another three-goal lead midway through the third quarter.
But with the Dutchmen ahead 8-5, SLU began one final comeback that culminated with the Saints picking up an automatic bid to the NCAA Division III Tournament.
The Saints earned a first-round bye and will host a game Saturday against the winner of a first-round game between Western New England (13-4) and Western Connecticut State (13-6).
Scott Smith started the winning rally with a goal at 9:55 of the third quarter to cut Union's lead to 8-6.
McKee, who entered the game with 35 goals, scored two goals to end the third quarter, tying the game 8-8 with a goal with less than two seconds remaining.
"That goal at the end of the third quarter was huge," said Saints coach Mike Mahoney.
After Union took one final lead, 9-8, just 2:53 into the fourth quarter, McKee closed out the scoring with a goal at 4:29 and the game-winning goal with 4:31 remaining.
He had scored seven goals against Union during the regular-season, but found things tougher with the Dutchmen Sunday. At least until it mattered the most.
"Things happen and it felt like they were more conscious of me," McKee said. "It's a great feeling to score at the end of a game."
McKee scored 25 goals as a freshman and the native of Old Greenwich, Conn., impressed his coach with his late-game heroics Sunday.
"It shows he's a big-time player," Mahoney said. "He's an (NCAA Division I) caliber player that we're fortunate to have here. He can take over a game at any time."
Union was led by Chris Collison and Jon Miller, who each scored three goals. The No. 3 Dutchmen reached Sunday's game with a 9-8 semifinal win in the over No. 2 Clarkson on Friday, with Scott Garibaldi scoring with 40.3 seconds left in regulation.
"Offensively we were more prepared for (SLU's) pressure," Union coach Paul Wehrum said. "I'm not surprised at anything that these kids have accomplished."
After a third consecutive championship, Mahoney felt this one was the hardest. Not only did he lose several standouts to graduation after last season, his team also had to deal with the role of being the favorite and getting every team's top effort.
"We're at a point where we're a program now," Mahoney said. "You will graduate good players and it's tough to see them go, but you have other kids ready to move in."
Up next for the Saints is the NCAA Division III Tournament. And after losing by just one goal to top-ranked Salisbury (11-10 on March 20), SLU is confident it can match up with any team it may face.
"When we get both (the offense and defense) running I know we have a chance to make it a long ways," said defenseman Ben Buskey.
