DANVILLE, Ky. (April 29, 2022) - The Rhodes Lynx defense was phenomenal in their 9-8 win over the #1 seed and host Centre Colonels on Friday evening. The win moves Rhodes, the #4 seed, to the SAA championship game on Sunday, where they will take on the #3 seed Sewanee Tigers. 

Rhodes jumped out to an early lead thanks to goals from Ryan Dancy and Geist Pollock in the first four minutes. However, Centre, the highest scoring team in the conference, was able to respond with four scores before the end of the first quarter. The second quarter had a competely different pace as only two shots found the net. Drew Litner sliced through the Colonel defense early to score an unassisted goal. More than 12 minutes would pass before the next goal as both teams locked in on defense. The Lynx cats had one final push in them before the horn though. With only one second left on the clock, leading assist man Christian Cisneros fed James Mayfield for the game-tying goal heading into halftime. 

Centre outshot Rhodes 21-16 in the first half, but Brendan Roberts was a beast in the goal, racking up eight saves. The Lynx defense forced eleven turnovers, and also caused Centre to fail four clear attempts in the first half.  

Pollock would net the first goal of the third quarter with a strike at the 11:20 mark, giving Rhodes the lead. It was shortlived, however, as Centre answered with a goal four minutes later. On the next possession, Conor Casey matched the Centre effort with a goal off of a feed from Tyler Pellegrino. Then, with under a minute left again, Rhodes was able to come through when Cisneros scored his first of the game with ten seconds to go, giving Rhodes a two-goal lead heading into the fourth. 

Centre scored twice in the first four minutes of the last period to tie things up. The final score of the game came off the stick of Liam Sullivan, who scored unassisted with ten minutes to go. Those final ten minutes were a defensive battle as both teams fought for control of the game. The Lynx defense forced three turnovers in that time frame, while Roberts saved three shots ... including one with three seconds to go ... to seal the win for the Lynx. 

Pollock and Centre's David Caldwell were the only players in the game to score more than once. Cisneros led all players with three total points on a goal and two assists. Roberts put together an awesome performance in goal, saving 15 shots at a .688%. 

Rhodes will play in the SAA championship against #3 Sewanee, who upset #2 Birmingham-Southern earlier in the day. The two teams will face off on Sunday, May 1 at 1:00 pm EST.