The Onondaga Community College men's lacrosse team started and ended the 2015 season on top after defeating CCBC-Essex, 16-8, to capture their seventh straight National Junior College Athletic Association National Championship on Sunday in Baltimore, Md.

The win caps a decade of dominance for Onondaga, which has won the national title nine times in the last 10 years.  The 2015 campaign has been a year of streaks for the Lazers. Aside from their seventh consecutive title, Onondaga won its 11th straight Region III Championship along with its 15th straight Mid-State Athletic Conference title. Sunday's win moved Onondaga to 18-0 and extended its own NJCAA all-time mark for consecutive wins across all sports and divisions with its 105 straight victories.

"This was a memorable season to say the least," stated Onondaga head coach and the NJCAA's Coach of the Tournament, Chuck Wilbur.  "We set out back in the summer with one goal in mind, and to have been able to accomplish it is such a great feeling.  Every guy on this team played a big role in our success – every single guy.  To say I'm proud of what we've done is an understatement."

Matt Bennett was named the Championships Most Valuable Offensive Player while Onondaga's goalie, Holden McDonald, was selected as the Most Valuable Defensive Player.  Nick Sawyer, Tyson Bell, Brine Rice and Sean Lattimore were each named to the All-Tournament Team for their contributions in the Lazers' two wins over the weekend.

Onondaga found itself in a 1-0 hole to begin the game and wouldn't notch the equalizer until nearly nine minutes in when Sawyer scored a man-up opportunity that would spark a four-goal run that lasted into the second quarter.

The Knights would cut the deficit in half with a man-up tally of their own at the 10:30 mark of the second frame, but the Lazers responded with goals from Sean Ohlhaver and Lattimore to take a 6-2 lead.

Essex would score the final goal of the first half with 41 seconds showing and scored again just 27 ticks into the third quarter to climb to within two goals, 6-4, but that was as close as they would get as the Lazers would score four of the next five goals to claim a 10-5 advantage heading into the final quarter.

After exchanging tallies to begin the fourth, Onondaga ripped off four unanswered goals including a pair from Rice to take a commanding nine-goal lead.

Essex tried to put together a late comeback, scoring two goals in the final seven minutes, but Lattimore would score the game's final goal to close the door on any Essex chances.

12 different players had their names etched into the scorebook for Onondaga led by Rice's six points on two goals and a game-high four assists.  Bennett finished with three goals and an assist while Sean Lattimore netted a pair of goals to go along with two assists.  Parrish Young and Sawyer each finished with two goals and Max Bosworth, Kyle Killen, Tom Koster along with Bell and Ohlhaver chipped in with one goal apiece.

McDonald played all 60 minutes in net and made 13 saves along the way.  McDonald finishes his freshman season with an unblemished record, 16-0.

Sam Watts was 9-for-18 at X while Doug Jamieson won all but two chances after going 6-for-8.

The Lazers held a 59-35 shot advantage and picked up nearly 20 more groundballs than the Knights, 32-13.

The Lazers dominated in nearly every facet of the game this season after outscoring their competition 448-56.  The Lazers held opponents to only 261 shots this season while peppering the competition with 1043 shots of their own.  Onondaga won nearly 80 percent of its face-offs this season and forced its opponents into 342 turnovers in all.