The Brown Bears men's lacrosse team defeated Navy 11-10 in the NCAA Quarterfinal on Saturday afternoon at Brown Stadium earned a birth in the Final Four. This will be the Bears first Final Four appearance since 1994.
Leading 10-9 with 2:22 to go, Brown's Kylor Bellistri found the back of the net to give the Bears an 11-9 lead. The goal was Bellistri's 62nd of the season, making him Brown's leading goal scorer. The goal would prove to be the game winner.
Navy would get one back with 1:59 to play on a goal by Casey Rees to cut the Bears lead back to one, 11-10, and would have a last chance with about 24 seconds to play in the game but would turn the ball over.
Brown played the game without Dylan Molloy who was out with a Broken foot.
Wild First Half
After Navy's Greyson Torain tied the game at 4 with 4:28 to play in the half, the Brown Bears responded with the next two goals.
About 35 seconds later, Bailey Tills found the back of the net to give Brown a 5-4 lead with 3:55 left to play. Tills, a senior, is filled the void left by Molloy.
Brown would strike aging with 43 seconds left in the half on a goal by Henry Blynn which came off a battle for a ground ball.
The Leaders
Brown was led by Kylor Bellistri who netted 4 goals and 2 assists in the contest.
Goaltender Jack Kelly made 12 saves.
Next up
Brown advances to the Final Four next week in Philadelphia where they will take on top seeded Maryland.
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The home town Brown University Bears are coming off a 17-8 first round win over the Johns Hopkins Blue Jays and will be looking to get back to the Final Four for the first time since 1994.
The Bears are in the midst of one of their best seasons, maybe the best season, in program history recording a program record 15 wins and going 6-0 in Ivy League play during the regular season.
Brown was ranked as high as number 2 in the country during the regular season before falling to Harvard in the first round of the Ivy League Tournament and taking a 5 seed in the NCAA Tournament.
The Navy Midshipmen are coming off an upset win over 4th seeded Yale in the first round of the NCAA Tournament, earning their first NCAA Tournament win since 2008 when they beat North Carolina.
Navy has the top ranked defense in the country and showed it by holding Yale to just three goals in the second half.
"I would say that as all Academy teams are, Navy is incredibly fit, athletic and the effort is always going to be there from a riding and ground ball perspective. They also play with an incredible amount of poise, they really took it to Yale," said Jamie Munro a Brown lacrosse alum and founder and CEO of 3D Lacrosse.
Navy will face Brown on Saturday.
The Midshipmen went 11-4 overall in the regular season, including 7-1 in conference play.
Navy was led all season by Casey Rees who has netted 29 goals and Patrick Keena who has recorded 54 points so far.
The Syracuse Orange come into Providence as 11 time national champions and are riding momentum after a come back win against Albany in the first round. They are in the midst of a 6 game winning streak.
Syracuse will now face top ranked Maryland in the quarterfinal round on Saturday.
"This is a program that graduated 6 offensive players last year. This might be one of the best offenses that coach Donahue (offensive assistant coach) has ever had," said Munro.
The Orange went 12-4 in the regular season and 2-2 in conference.
Cuse is led by Nick Mariano who has netted 35 goals so far while Dylan Donahue has recorded 60 points.
The Maryland Terrapins enter Saturday's game against Syracuse as the number 1 team in the country and coming off a 13-6 first round win over Quinnipiac.
Maryland is 15-2 on the season and have won 14 straight games.
"Many think Maryland might be the best team in the field. They are a very good team, probably the most balanced team in the field and are very well coached," Munro said.
The Terrapins were are led by Colin Heacock who netted 37 goals so far this season while his teammate Matt Rambo has tallied 35. Rambo also leads the team in points with 57 on the season.
