Sun May 16 2021 | Matt DaSilva | College
PHOTO BY JACK DEMPSEY
Loyola goalie Sam Shafer makes a save on Denver s Alex Simmons with five seconds left to preserve the Greyhounds 14-13 NCAA tournament first-round win Sunday at Peter Barton Lacrosse Stadium.
Sam Shafer is 6-foot-3, 235 pounds. Loyola’s senior goalie needed all his big body frame to make the last-second save that will go down as one of the most clutch plays in recent NCAA men’s lacrosse tournament memory.
Shafer denied Denver’s Alex Simmons on the doorstep before time expired to preserve Loyola’s 14-13 win Sunday over the seventh-seeded Pioneers, exasperating the sold-out 40-percent capacity crowd at Peter Barton Lacrosse Stadium and sending the Greyhounds to the NCAA quarterfinals. It was Shafer’s 16th save of the game.