The Seawolves Rout Santa Clara 21-6, Advance to WCLL Semifinals

The Sonoma State Men's Lacrosse team defeated Santa Clara University on Sunday, April 19th in Seawolf Stadium by a score of 21-6. The Seawolves move to 9-4 on the season and will now advance to the WCLL semifinals hosted at Los Gatos High School in Los Gatos, Ca. 

Key performances from the game include senior Dylan Hardy (3G, 3A, 4 CTO, 4GB), senior Nick Frangione (3G, 3A) senior Mason Colaizzi (5G), senior Benen Powers (4G, 2A), senior Dustin Smith (2G, 1A), junior Riley Corcoran (16 Saves, 5GA 76% Save Percentage), sophomore Jack Engblom (3CTO's, 2GB), and sophomore DJ Santiago (2G). 

In the first quarter, the Sonoma defense opened with two consecutive stops, but failed to clear the ball to the offensive side on their first two attempts. Both teams remained scoreless for the first 9 minutes before DJ Santiago caught a pass from Benen Powers on the wing and finished it low with his off hand. Two minutes later, Dylan Hardy found Benen Powers for a doorstep finish, their first of two times they would link up on the day. Dubbed "The Oak Park Connection", the former high school teammates have been seemingly unstoppable in transition the last several weeks. Defensively, the Noma D held Santa Clara scoreless for the duration of the quarter. After a score from Dustin Smith and two from Mason Colaizzi, the Seawolves led 5-0 at the end of the first. 

In the second quarter, the SCU offense began to heat up, as they scored 5 of their 6 goals in the second quarter alone. The Seawolves were able to continue the scoring of their own, when Nick Frangione found Dylan Hardy for a well placed time and room shot to the top corner. After two more goals from Powers and one from Frangione, the Seawolves finished the half with a 9-5 lead and took to the  shade under the redwoods. 

In the second half, the Seawolves took complete control and never looked back. First, it was DJ Santiago running by his man for an easy finish inside. The Seawolves captains would each score the next four goals, led by Frangione, Powers, Hardy, and Smith. A total of 10 different players contributed to the scoring for the Seawolves throughout the contest, a season high. Defensively, the Seawolves held SCU to another scoreless quarter, keeping the momentum in Sonoma's favor. At the end of the third, the Seawolves held a commanding 14-5 lead. 

To start the fourth, Colaizzi found the back of the net on a nice split dodge to his left followed by his lightning quick release. Colaizzi would go on to finish the next goal on a perfectly executed fast break that started with a Jack Engblom caused turnover. After scooping up the ground ball on the defensive end, Engblom ran the length of the field and hit Frangione on the point. The Seawolf attack would then play tic-tac-toe, with each attackmen passing to the other before an easy finish on the doorstep. The shot of the day came on the final goal of the game, when freshman Berns Kurtz sniped the bottom right corner for his second goal of the season. In the end, SSU defeated Santa Clara 21-6 in their most decisive victory of the season. 

The Seawolves will now advance to take on #6 ranked UC Santa Barbara in Los Gatos, Ca on April 25th at 11:30am. The game will be live streamed, so be on the lookout for a link through our social media accounts. The winner of the WCLL semifinal game will play the following day on April 26th at 3pm for the WCLL championship. The winner of the WCLL tournament will advance to the MCLA National Championship, hosted in Richmond, Virginia from May 4th-May 9th. 

Go Seawolves!