Tied at 8-all through three periods, the nationally top-ranked Limestone College men's lacrosse team outscored No. 4 Belmont Abbey College, 5-1, in the fourth to claim the program's 11th Conference Carolinas Championship with a 13-9 decision in the title game on Sunday, April 28. GAME INFORMATION Score: No. 1 Limestone 13, No. 4 Belmont Abbey 9 Records: No. 1 Limestone (17-0), No. 4 Belmont Abbey (14-3) Location: Ray McDonald, Sr. Sports Complex INSIDE THE BOXSCORE Junior Larson Sundown (Basom, N.Y.) tallied three goals for the Saints Junior Clark Walter (Port Coquitlam, British Columbia) also posted a hat trick Junior Tyler Papa (Manlius, N.Y.) registered a trio of scores Graduate Brian Huyghue (Halifax, Nova Scotia) finished with two goals and two assists Senior Matt Bennett (Nedrow, N.Y.) added a goal and three assists Senior Jeremy Burns (Fort Mitchell, Ky.) dished out three assists Senior Matt Hommel (Ballston Spa, N.Y.) chipped in a goal Senior defender Andrew Martin (Olney, Md.) was named Most Outstanding Player Senior keeper Danny Forren (Trumbull, Conn.) finished with 13 saves Junior specialist Christopher Parrott (Rising Sun, Md.) went 10-of-15 at the center "X" Junior Dakota Kirsch-Downs (Odenton, Md.) won 7-of-10 faceoff attempts HOW IT HAPPENED First Quarter In a battle of conference and national powerhouses, both teams had a couple of looks on offense in the early going but it was the Abbey who cracked the goose egg on the scoreboard at the 9:12-mark. The Saints equalized 60 seconds later as Hommel split the cage off an assist from Huyghue, making it 1-all. The Crusaders scored with just over a minute left in the opening quarter, but again the Blue and Gold had a response down the stretch. Huyghue bullied his defender off of him before firing from long range, beating the Belmont Abbey keeper with a laser as Limestone evened things up at 2-2 through one period. Second Quarter Walter gave the Saints their first lead of the day, 3-2, with his 46th goal of the year, but the Abbey answered after killing a two-man down situation on the defensive side. However, Limestone would move back in front, 5-3, as Sundown and Huyghue both found the back of the net off assists from Burns. The Crusaders pulled to within a score at the 6:53-mark, but Sundown put Limestone on top, 6-4, a couple of minutes later with his 58th goal of the season. The lead would not hold up long though as Belmont Abbey scored twice over the final 3:14 of the half, sending the contest into the break tied at six. Third Quarter After successfully killing a penalty to start the second half, Limestone regained the lead as Walter tallied his second goal of the day off an assist from Bennett a few moments into the third. The Abbey countered with the tying score at the 8:30-mark, but Walter again put the Saints back on top, 8-7, a few ticks later. The back-and-forth affair would continue in the clash of heavyweights though as the Crusaders tied the game at 8-all with 4:12 remaining in the period. That score would hold up with three quarters in the books. Fourth Quarter Tied for the sixth time on the afternoon to start the fourth and final frame, Papa delivered the go-ahead score with his first goal of the game. It would not be his last as the All-American split the cage two more times to power a 5-0 run for the Blue and Gold over a 10-minute stretch in the period. Bennett added a goal and an assist for the Saints during the decisive run while Sundown completed his hat trick as Limestone pulled away, 13-8. The Abbey scored a man-down in the closing ticks, but it was not enough as the Blue and Gold captured the conference tournament crown for the first time since 2017. TURNING POINT Limestone was able to create some separation in the fourth as Papa powered a decisive 5-0 run with a trio of scores in the final period. The Saints won 6-of-7 faceoff attempts in the quarter while the defense turned the Abbey over four times and limited it to just eight shot attempts over the last 15 minutes. NOTABLES Limestone took a huge step in locking down the top seed in the South Region The Saints have outscored Belmont Abbey 12-2 in the fourth quarter over two games this season Martin, Forren, Walter, and senior Tyler Ponzio (Ronkonkoma, N.Y.) were named All-Tournament The Blue and Gold finished with a 50-38 in shots attempted and a 36-24 edge in groundballs Limestone avenged its loss to Belmont Abbey in last year's championship game UP NEXT The Saints will wrap up the 2019 regular season when they host nationally sixth-ranked University of Indianapolis on Saturday, May 4 at 12 p.m. Limestone will celebrate the team's seniors prior to the game.