Batavia, NY – Welcome Genesee Community College to the 2023 NJCAA (National Junior College Athletic Association) Mens Lacrosse National Championships. The Cougars (7-4) claimed the sixth seed in this year's national tournament, heading to Syracuse to face the third seeded, nationally ranked Onondaga Lazers (10-2). Opening faceoff is scheduled for Saturday, May 6th at 12PM.
Genesee hosted Onondaga earlier in the season, dropping a 16-11 decision to the third ranked Lazers. Onondaga's attack was led by a seven-goal run to start the first quarter, forcing Genesee to play from behind the whole game. Across the next three quarters, the Cougars would outscore Onondaga 10-9, however the initial deficit was to significant to overcome. The Lazers were dominant at the faceoff spot, however shots, turnovers, groundballs, and clears were near even.
Genesee's attack is led by freshman Christian LeFeurve. LeFeurve leads the nation with 54 total goals and ranks third nationally in points (goals + assists) with 76. Sophomore Jordan Boyenko follows up the Genesee attack with 43 goals (sixth nationally). The Cougars attack is fueled by sophomore Tyler Goode who ranks second nationally with 45 assists. Genesee is backed by sophomore Ethan Wiech, who posted a 10.21 goals against average and 52.3 save percentage while starting all 11 games for the Cougars.
The Cougars boast the highest shot-on-goal percentage of any team in the country, with 71.1% of their shots being on frame. The team also posts the second highest goals-per-game with 19.64, only behind Onondaga.
About Onondaga: Led by the offensive trio of freshman Thunder Hill (45g, 72p), and sophomores Gregory Elijah-Brown (48g, 88p) and Anahalihs Doxtator (46g, 98p) who each rank nationally in goals, assists and points, the Lazers are the top scoring team with almost 22 goals-per-game. Onondaga is backed by sophomore Logan Lemelbaun in net, who has posted a 60.9 save percentage and 7.58 goals-against-average.
The winner of Saturday's game will advance to the National Semifinals, hosted on May 13th at Harford Community College.
