SMU Rolls to LSA Championship

SAN ANTONIO – Southern Methodist will be making its first-ever appearance at the MCLA National Championships powered by Under Armour after knocking off Texas State, 11-6, in the championship game of the Lone Star Alliance tournament on Sunday afternoon.

The Mustangs (16-0) never trailed in the contest, although the victory wasn’t assured until the fourth quarter. SMU grabbed a quick 3-0 lead to start the game and still held a relatively comfortable 6-3 advantage at halftime, especially with the way senior goalie Adam Connolly was playing.

Texas State (12-3) clawed its way back into the game, solving Connolly for a pair of goals to cut the margin to 6-5 after three quarters. The Mustangs finished strong, however, outscoring the Bobcats 6-1 in the final frame to take the victory.

"Finally," said SMU coach Karl Lynch after the game. "Whenever you face off against the reigning champs, it is going to take a complete team effort to win. We had contributions from the attack all the way back to our ball-stopper, Adam Connolly. The game ball went to our defensive coordinator, Jason Gildea, for guiding the defense to another win."

Junior attackman Nick Schultz paced the SMU offense with four goals and an assist.

The Mustangs will find out on the evening of Sunday, May 1, who their opponent will be at the MCLA National Championships, which will take place from May 9-14 in Orange County, Calif. Texas State will be considered among the at-large pool.

2016 LSA Division I Tournament Results

Quarterfinals – Saturday, April 16
#1N Southern Methodist 3. #4S Texas, 11-2
#2S Texas A&M d. #3N Oklahoma, 16-6
#3S LSU d. #2N Texas Christian, 11-10
#1S Texas State d. #4N North Texas, 14-7

Semifinals – Saturday, April 23
#1N Southern Methodist d. #2S Texas A&M, 17-12
#1S Texas State d. #3S LSU, 8-6

Finals – Sunday, April 24
#1N Southern Methodist d. #1S Texas State, 11-6