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No. 8 Loyola Marymount Survives 9-7 Versus No. 11 St. Francis in NCAA Championship Third Place Game
BERKELEY, Calif. -- The No. 11-ranked St. Francis College Terriers fell behind 6-1 after the first 9:56 of the first half and dropped a 9-7 decision against No. 8 Loyola Marymount University in the consolation game of the 2010 National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Final Four at the University of California-Berkeley. The Terriers conclude the season with a record of 24-5.
"For whatever reason we were sluggish today to open the game and it really cost us," said Terriers' head coach Igor Samardzija. "We made a nice effort to comeback in the second half but you can not fall behind like that against an elite team. I'm still very proud of the guys and it is a great achievement to make it this far. Our program has a very bright future."
Sophomore Marko Gencic led the Terriers with three goals and junior Alexandar Pantic added a pair. Senior goalie Nikola Djuric made 10 saves in a losing cause. Gencic was later named to the NCAA Final Four All-Tournament Team.
Tibai Forai scored three goals in the first 1:49 of the contest to spot the Lions a lightning-fast 3-0 advantage. Derek Milligan made it 4-0 with 3:01 remaining in the opening quarter before the Terriers stopped the bleeding with a fast-break goal by freshman Bosko Stankovic with 1:12 left. But Forai delivered his fourth goal of the game with 37 seconds left to give his team a 5-1 lead at the end of the first quarter.
Edgaras Asajavicius staked the Lions to a 6-1 advantage with a goal at the 6:04 mark of the second quarter but Gencic scored back-to-back goals to bring the Terriers within 6-3 with 3:08 remaining before halftime. However, Forai scored on a penalty shot at the 2:41 mark and Daniel Smith added another tally to give Loyola-Marymount an 8-3 halftime edge.
The Terriers kept the Lions off the scoreboard in the third quarter but were only able to score once as Pantic netted a power-play goal at the 5:39 mark.
LMU extended their lead to 9-4 in the fourth quarter as Albert Samuels beat Djuric with 4:43 remaining in the contest. The Lions pulled starting goalie Andy Stevens and the Terriers proceeded to score three straight goals to end the game. Senior Boris Plavsic, Gencic, and Pantic all found the back of the net against Gavyn Wild.
Release courtesy St. Francis Athletic Communications
