Behind attackman Sean Hickey’s two goals and two assists, the No. 4-ranked St. Thomas men’s lacrosse team punched its ticket to the Upper Midwest Lacrosse Conference Division-II championship game with a 14-8 victory over No. 2-ranked North Dakota State University.

After losing to the Bison (7-3, 3-1) earlier this season, the Tommies (6-3, 2-2) responded with a commanding win in the conference semifinal, and rode the momentum of five second quarter scores to a 6-goal victory. St. Thomas will now face rival St. John’s in the conference championship, where the Tommies will hope to avenge an 11-10 overtime loss earlier this season.

Senior James Maki said Sunday’s rematch against St. John’s is about “payback.”

“They beat us at their place. We played great (in that game), but we’re looking forward to giving it back to them. The emotions are going to be high, but I think we’ll definitely come out on top,” Maki said.

Coach Peter Moosbrugger said struggles playing in transition was a big part of the losses to both St. John’s and North Dakota State in the regular season, making it one of the team’s main points of focus as they enter postseason play.

“The biggest thing in (the North Dakota State loss) and almost every game this year that’s hurt us has been the transition game … We did a good job of that. I asked the guys to two goals in transition, and we got three,” Moosbrugger said. “The downside is that we really struggled clearing the ball, but what we did fix was getting back and forcing teams to play us six-on-six.”

Though the Tommies trailed 2-1 after the first quarter, they bounced back with a goal to tie the game just seconds into the second quarter. It would be the first of five, second-quarter goals to give St. Thomas a 6-3 lead heading into halftime.

Attackman Chris Moulton said the team’s regular season game against the North Dakota State taught the Tommies a lot about how they would have to approach the second matchup between the two teams.

“We learned that we need to move the ball more and make sure everyone gets involved. Tonight we really pushed transition, and we just played really well as a team rather than relying on individual effort,” Moulton said.

Though the Tommie offense showed its efficiency in the second quarter, it was the team’s defensive play that really stood out. Goaltender Ryan Zeilinger made a save on North Dakota State’s first possession of the second quarter, and moments later got possession of the ball before sending it upfield to initiate a transition rush that ended in a Tommie goal.

The Tommies also killed four, second-quarter penalties, including a two-man down chance late in the quarter. After defensive midfielder Carl Nordberg took an unnecessary roughness penalty, Moosbrugger was assessed an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty while arguing the call. With the help of three saves from Zeilinger, the Tommies killed both penalties. After taking a fourth penalty just before halftime, St. Thomas not only killed the penalty, but also tallied a goal with a man-down score from Maki.

“We’ve been working all week in practice and … the mentality was just to go 100 percent down the field, push, and if you have the opportunity, take it,” Maki said. “We took our opportunities when we could, and we came out on top.”

North Dakota State cut the deficit by one goal in the third quarter as St. Thomas held an 8-6 lead entering the fourth quarter. However, the Tommies put the game away early in the fourth with midfielders Sam Shreve and Peter Schubloom’s two quick goals to give the Tommies a 10-6 lead. With North Dakota State pressing to get multiple goals in the game’s final quarter, the Tommies continued to catch the Bison in transition as the game ended in a 14-8 final score.

Moosbrugger said he was thrilled with how his team responded to today’s game after losing to North Dakota State earlier in the season, and thought this win solidified his team’s position in the national tournament picture.

“I can’t be happier. (North Dakota State) caught us in the middle of the season, and we responded well,” Moosbrugger said. “I think with us being the No. 4-ranked team and getting a win over the No. 2-ranked team, I don’t know why we wouldn’t go (to the national tournament).”

St. Thomas will now take on St. John’s for the conference title at 4 p.m. Sunday at Washburn high school.

“It’s going to be an emotional, high-intensity game that doesn’t always resemble a lacrosse game at times because of the emotion in it,” Moosbrugger said. “Our biggest challenge tomorrow is going to be keeping our emotions in check and focusing on playing the game and executing.”

Jacob Sevening can be reached at seve8586@stthomas.edu.