Bel Air, MD - The Men's Lacrosse team traveled to Harford Community College for the 2023 National Championship Tournament. Their dominant season came to an end falling just short in the classic matchup to the No. 2 Nassau Lions in the semifinal round after with an 8-10 final.

The contest lived up to it's history resulting in a physical, high-intensity matchup. Nassau was first on the board against the Lazers to kick off the semifinal contest going man-up after an Onondaga penalty due to pushing. After a scoreless, defense-heavy 7 minutes, Onondaga responded with two quick back-to-back goals from Thunder Hill and Anahalihs Doxtator both assisted by Gregory Elijah-Brown to lead the Lions and finish the first quarter.

With defense continuing as the dominant factor, Onondaga let in a Lions goal after a double penalty on Elijah-Brown to tie it all up 2-2. The Lazers and the Lions kept the margin closed until the final minute of the 2nd quarter with Dylan Snow finding the back of the net on an assist from Sean Tierney to take the lead. But the Lions responded quickly taking possession and scoring with :17 to go. Onondaga held the Lions with a great defensive stop to keep it at an even 3-3 to enter halftime.

Sophomore Goalie, Logan Lemelbaum, started the second half with a save in goal after Nassau took the face-off. Isaiah Thomas put the Lazers back on top for their third lead of the game on a straight drive to goal. Struggling to win face-offs, the Lazer defense could only hold onto this lead for so long when Nassau brought us to the fourth tie of the game at 9:22. The Lions found more gaps in the Lazer defense for the remainder of the 3rd quarter and beginning of the 4th scoring the next 6 consecutive goals for the largest lead of the contest, 9-4.

With the clock running down and in desperate need of a momentum shift, Elijah-Brown found Onondaga a goal with 9:47 remaining, but the Lions responded with one of their own taking the 5 goal lead back. The Lazer fire was regained with 4 minutes remaining scoring the next 3 goals, making the Lions nervous. The Lazers came out of the final timeout with :48 remaining, a 2-goal deficit, and a regained possession. Elijah-Brown was able to get  ashot off and cut the lead to 1 thanks to quick ball movement, but the Lions Goalie would not allow the 1-goal lead. The Lazers took their last drive and shot with :05 to go, but it wouldn't be enough, falling just short to the Lions, 8-10.

Region III Player of the Year, Gregory Elijah-Brown had two goals in the contest, finishing the season with 58, and bringing him to a career total 102 and a spot in the Onondaga Men's Lacrosse record book.

Onondaga took home the Tournament Sportsmanship Award. Gregory Elijah-Brown, Logan Lemelbaum, and Sean Tierney were awarded members of the All-Tournament team.

Onondaga finished the 2023 season with an 11-3 overall record.

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