Posted: Apr 19, 2025
Jackets Sink Gators for SELC Title
Georgia Tech
(12-4, 5-0)
12
Florida
(14-3, 4-1)
11
| Final | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | OT | T | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Georgia Tech (12-4, 5-0) | 4 | 3 | 1 | 3 | 1 | 12 |
|
Florida (14-3, 4-1) | 2 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 0 | 11 |
The Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets played in their fifth straight SouthEastern Lacrosse Conference Championship game on Saturday. The Jackets faced the Florida Gators in a rematch of the 2024 title game. The two teams met in Gainesville, Florida three weeks earlier with the Gators getting the better of the Jackets 14-8. The Gators came into the game with ranked 2nd in the MCLA while the Jackets were ranked 6th.
After the slow start on Friday the Jackets were determined to start fast. Michael Grosso and Andrew Belli got the party started giving the Jackets a 2-0 lead early before the Gators broke the seal. Carl Dagher dodged his man and found a cutting Pierce Quarles to put the Jackets back up by 2. Grosso added his second goal of the game to put the Jackets ahead by three before the Gators added one more to close the gap to 4-2 to end the the first quarter.
The Jackets had numerous good looks in the second quarter, but struggled to finish. They were able to add three goals. Brooks Baro scored on a backhand after posting his man up. Charlie Ciardullo won a faceoff forward and scored when the defense did not slide. Pierce Quarles rode the ball back and fed Joseph Rose in transition to give the Jackets their seventh goal of the half. The Jacket defense was swarming and rotating all over the field keeping the Gators at bay. The quick sliding defense forced the Gators into more passes than they wanted to make and bought time for the defense to rotate to the open man. Owen Armentrout stood tall in the net when the Gators got good shots. The Jackets took a 7-4 lead into halftime.
The third quarter found the Jacket offense stuck in the mud. The Gator defense was physical and forced the Jackets into numerous turnovers while the Jacket defense was forced to play too much defense. The Gators found the slight cracks in the defense and took advantage. Matt Seifert scooped a ground ball on the crease and scored a garbage goal to give the Jackets their only goal of the quarter while the Gators found paydirt three times. The Jackets lead 8-7 going into the fourth quarter.
The Gators tied the game on an extra man goal early in the fourth. Michael Grosso fed Aaron Piszczek for a step down shot to put the Jackets back up by one. The Gators scored the next two goals to take their first lead of the game. Andrew Belli responded to tie the game 30 seconds later. The Gators nosed out in front again less than a minute later. Belli was up to the task again and scored to tie the game with 2:31 remaining. The Jackets had the last possession of the game, but could not get the game winner in regulation.
The game headed to overtime with the title on the line. The Gators won the overtime faceoff and called timeout. The Jacket defense was up to the task and continued swarming around the field. The Gators hit the post with their first shot and got the rebound. On their next shot Carl Dagher dove into his closeout to pressure the shooter and Peter Zagrobelny made a clean save before hitting Dagher who cleared the ball and the Jackets called timeout. The Jackets got a great look for Matt Seifert out of the timeout, but the shot sailed high. The Jackets kept working the possession and Michael Grosso swung the ball to Seifert again who hitched around his defender and fired a shot past the goalie to give the Jackets the win. The title is the third consecutive for the Jackets and their seventh overall. The Jackets have earned an automatic bid to MCLA National Championships May 5-10 in Round Rock, Texas.
