The Bison men’s lacrosse team secured a spot in the Patriot League Tournament following the 14-7 win over Lafayette on April 15. The Bison enter the tournament 8-4 overall and 4-3 in conference. This will be the 10th straight year that the Orange and Blue have made an appearance in the Patriot League Tournament.

The Bison set the tone of the game from start, creating a four-goal cushion before Lafayette attempted their first shot. Kyle Shanahan ’16 was the first to score a goal, followed by Thomas Flibotte ’16, Sean Doyle ’16, and Will Sands ’18. Sean O’Brien ’18 tallied an Orange and Blue goal with 5:32 left in the second quarter, bringing the score to 6-2 at the half.

The first half set the tone for the entire game. The Bison offense had another flurry of goals in the third quarter, outscoring the Leopards 3-2. The Bison showed no mercy in the fourth quarter, scoring four unanswered goals by Tommy O’Connor ’17, Flibotte, Doyle, and Ryan Durkin ’19, who scored his first career goal. This scoring edge put the game out of reach for the Leopards. Durkin scored his second career goal off of a feed from John Reed ’18 with eight seconds left in the game.

In addition to his one assist, midfielder Flibotte had another four-goal game for the Bison. Doyle and Sands finished the game with two goals and an assist apiece. In addition, Quinn Collison ’17 recorded two assists and four ground balls for the Orange and Blue. Alex Spring ’16 and Brock Ghelfi ’16 also picked up four ground balls apiece. Jarett Witzal ’19 had another strong game, winning 11 out of 17 face-offs and coming up with six ground balls. The Bison had a clear edge on ground balls, collecting 36 compared to Lafayette’s 17.

“Lafayette was a huge win for us because it guarantees a spot in the patriot league post season. In other words everything we have been working for all year is still right in front of us. We are peaking at the right time and are excited to have a very good Lehigh team coming into town with a chance to guarantee a home playoff game,” Flibotte said.

With this win, the Bison now sit at fourth place in the conference alongside Lehigh. The Bison will face the Mountain Hawks April 22, at 7 p.m. in the last regular-season game for the Orange and Blue, when they will also honor the team’s seniors.