SALEM, Va. -- Roanoke fell behind 8-2 at the half and never held a lead in a 14-7 loss to Denison in the second round of the NCAA Tournament at Kerr Stadium Saturday afternoon. The loss ends the Maroons spectacular season at 17-2 while the Big Red advances to the NCAA Quarterfinals with a 14-2 mark.

It was the final game for seniors Adam Ariosa, Chas Carlson, Nick Peck, Josh Rea, Ben Sultze and Zach Thomas. For Thomas, he completes his career as the fourth-highest scorer in school-history with 234 points and in goals with 137. He is the only player in the 42-year history of Roanoke Lacrosse to play on four teams with 15-plus wins. The only captain of the team totaled 62 wins, more than any other player in program history.

Denison jumped out to a 3-0 first quarter lead and never trailed as they came out of Salem, Va. with a big NCAA Tournament road win over Roanoke. The Maroons got on the board with two quick goals from Brian Foley and Carlson to make it 4-2 with 12:25 in the second quarter.

The Big Red responded as they reeled off six unanswered goals pouring into the third period as they held the largest lead of the contest, 10-2 with just over five minutes into the second half.

Down 11-3 late in the third, Roanoke scored three-straight goals to close the gap to within five with 10:37 remaining in the fourth period. The Maroons scored only once more before the final buzzer sounded on the game, and their record-setting season.

Roanoke won in groundballs, 44-33 and 14 of 25 face-offs and was successful in 16 of 18 clear attempts. They were 2 for 3 in extra-man opportunities while the shots were even at 46 apiece.

Denison was led by Brady Burton and Emmett Jones with four goals each in the win. Dan Maude added three goals while Tanner Smith shared the wealth with a team-high three assists and a goal. Nate Hall finished with two assists while Connor Detjen won 11 of 24 face-offs and collected six groundballs. Gregg Shannon finished with 14 saves in goal to pick up his 14th win of the season for the Big Red.

Carlson led the Maroons with three goals and two assists in his final collegiate game. He finished his career 11th on the all-time scoring list with 192 points. He also finished fourth in career assists (111). Pat March added a goal and an assist in the losing effort.

Defensively, the Maroons caused 29 Denison turnovers, led by Drew Manley, Sam Love, Stephen Simmons and Ariosa with three each. Jake Dorsey had 13 saves in goal and collected a team-best five groundballs. Rea, Thomas and Love collected four apiece.

The Maroons finished their season with ODAC-records in wins (17), longest winning-streak (17), win-loss record (17-2), points (585), goals (357) and assists (228). They are ranked #1 in the country in scoring offense (19.44), assists per game (12.33) and points per game (31.78). In addition, the Maroons are ranked second in both groundballs per game (57.06) and scoring margin (9.44) while third in face-off win percentage (.666). The man-up offense is ranked sixth nationally (.468).

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Another quick start by the Big Red offense combined with a dazzling 14-save performance by Denison first-year goalie Gregg Shannon (Lindenhurst, N.Y./Saint Anthony's) led Denison to a 14-7 victory over third-ranked Roanoke in the second round of the NCAA Division III Men's Lacrosse Championship from Salem, Va.

Denison will advance to Wednesday's NCAA Quarterfinal round against Gettysburg College. The Bulletts knocked off Washington & Lee, 15-10, in today's second round to set up a rematch of last year's 9-8 overtime NCAA playoff thriller that was won by Gettysburg. This is the third appearance in the NCAA quarterfinals for Denison and their first trip to the round of eight since 2001.

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2009-05-09