Falcons win ECAC title, will play in NCAA tourney
Hillsborough sophomore Christopher Allen pitched in two scores as Air Force Academy’s lacrosse team held on Saturday for a 9-8 victory over top-seeded Fairfield to claim the ECAC lacrosse tournament championship.
The Falcons (10-5) earned the league’s automatic bid to the NCAA Championship and will make their first appearance in the national tournament since 1988.
Air Force was scheduled to host Atlantic Sun champion Richmond in the play-in round of the lacrosse championship on Wednesday, May 7.
The Falcons defeated second-seeded and host Ohio State, 14-7, in the semifinals, while earning a 9-8 victory over top-seeded and 14th-ranked Fairfield. Richmond (6-10) earned its automatic bid by capturing the Atlantic Sun tournament championship in its inaugural season of varsity competition.
The winner will advance to face defending national champion and top-seeded Duke on Sunday, May 11, at 5:15 p.m. in Durham, N.C.
Against Fairfield, Allen broke a 5-5 stalemate with an unassisted score a minute and a half into the third period. The cadets never relinquished the lead.
A strong second-half performance carried Air Force to a 14-7 victory May 1 over second-seeded Ohio State.
Senior Mike Crampton of Kinnelon, the ECAC Offensive Player of the Year, paced the Falcons with five goals. Allen registered his fourth hat trick of the season.