MOON TOWNSHIP, Pa. --- Sophomore
Daylin John-Hill was scanning the field on the man-up, looking for an open man. What the defense didn't know was that he wasn't even looking at his target.
He flipped the ball over his shoulder, finding senior
Nicky Brown for a beautiful goal, setting the tone for a historic and commanding introduction to the NCAA Men's Lacrosse Championship for the Jacksonville Dolphins.
The Jacksonville Dolphins (11-5) defeated the Robert Morris Colonials 13-7 Wednesday evening. The Dolphins become the seventh team in NCAA Men's Lacrosse tournament history to win their debut game since 1973.
Jacksonville routs Robert Morris 13-7 in the play-in round to advance to a Sunday date at second-seeded Notre Dame.
The Dolphins are the 13th team since the NCAA men's lacrosse tournament was established in 1971 to win their debut game, and only the seventh since 1973.
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— Patrick Stevens (@d1scourse.bsky.social) May 6, 2026 at 9:04 PM
Jacksonville started hot, with junior
William Krupsky burying his first of a career-high four goals to open the scoring. After Robert Morris tied the game, Brown scored a pair of goals --- including finishing off John-Hill's no-look feed --- to put JU up 3-1 early.
John-Hill continued to quarterback the extra-man unit, spotting sophomore
Connor Sydnor for another goal. John-Hill turned scorer to close the quarter, burying a feed from senior
Jack Taylor to give the Dolphins a 5-2 lead after the first.
Senior
Tate Jones danced around the cage for a goal, then Krupsky came down the alley with a head of steam for another goal. Taylor scored his first of three goals, taking a short-stick matchup all the way to the cage to end the half.
Taylor was back to it in the second half, hammering home a goal off a quick break in transition. Krupsky completed his hat-trick then Taylor took another short-stick to the dish to give Jacksonville an 11-3 lead with one quarter to play.
The Colonials warmed up in the final quarter --- scoring four of their seven goals in the final frame --- but goals from Czeschin and Krupsky gave JU breathing room to hold on to a six-goal victory.
Game Notes
- Taylor has had at least five points in five-straight games, including all three postseason games. He also grabbed a season-high five ground balls.
- John-Hill finished with a career-high four assists. He's averaging 4.33 points per game in the postseason.
- Junior faceoff man Drew Rippeon has won 16-24 faceoffs with 11 ground balls. He's won 72.5% (37-51) of faceoffs in his last two games.
- Jacksonville has allowed single-digit goals in seven-straight games and 11 times this season.
Head Coach John Galloway
Up Next
The Dolphins will face the second-seeded Notre Dame Fighting Irish Sunday at noon from Arlotta Stadium in South Bend, Indiana. The game will be broadcast on ESPNU.
