|
LYNCHBURG, VA - Colin Hanley (So., Davidsonville, MD/DeMatha) scored an unassisted goal at the 63:19 mark as the #9 ranked Franklin & Marshall men's lacrosse team overcame a two goal deficit with 43 seconds left in regulation to stun #6 ranked Lynchburg 13-12 in overtime in the second round of the NCAA Division III Men's Lacrosse Championships. F&M advances to face #1 ranked Salisbury University on Wednesday at Salisbury at a time to be determined. Salisbury rolled Cabrini College 16-1 on Saturday in another second round tournament game. Trailing by two with the clock winding down and the Hornets offense controlling the ball, the Diplomats fortunes took a turn for the worse with 1:20 left in regulation as Steve DeGrazia (Fr., Garden City, NY/Garden City) was penalized one minute for a slash. Down one man and two goals, the Diplomats took over the tempo of the game. Jon Singer (Sr., Reisterstown, MD/Boys' Latin) scooped a ground ball and took it down the field before firing a shot which sailed over the shoulder of Hornets' goalie Nick Braun to pull F&M within one with 43 seconds on the clock. The rest of the comeback belonged to face-off specialist Matt Capone (So., Scarsdale, NY/Scarsdale) and attackman Beau Smith (Sr., Baltimore, MD/Gilman). On the ensuing face-off following Singer's score, Capone won the face-off and hit a streaking Smith who split the Lynchburg defense and uncorked a 20 yard blast which bounced in front of Braun and found the back of the net to tie the score with 33 ticks left on the clock. The Diplomats had a chance to win the game in regulation but could not convert on three opportunities. In overtime, with 1:41 left in overtime, Hanley side-armed a shot through traffic that sailed over the stick of Braun and into the twine for the game-winner. Overall, Steve Welsh (So., Lewes, DE/Cape Henelopen) led the team with four goals and an assist, while Singer added three goals and two assists to raise the Diplomats record to 12-3, while Lynchburg falls to 12-5. The game started out all Lynchburg as the Hornets pounded in goals by Paul Venturella and Kevin Reinecke before F&M responded with a Singer goal at the 10:53 mark of the first period. Following a score by Andy Sinclair at 9:07 to give Lynchburg back a two goal lead, Singer connected on his second goal with a rising shot just under the crossbar to make the score 3-2 with 8:30 left in the period. Welsh knotted the score exactly one minute later as he circled the cage and fired a point-blank shot which trickled over Braun's feet for a 3-3 tie. The two teams traded scores before Brandon Childs blasted a shot into the net for a 5-4 Lynchburg lead at the end of the first period. The Diplomats caught a break in the period between quarters as the stick of Lynchburg's Charlie Enman was found to have an illegal head. The ensuing three minute unreleasable penalty was fruitful for F&M as the team put in two goals for a 6-5 lead. Thirteen seconds into the period, Welsh finished a feed from Bas Solleveld (Jr., Glenmoore, PA/Shipley) for a five all tie. Seventy-five seconds later Smith picked up a loose ball outside of the Lynchburg goal crease and flipped a shot over his left shoulder and into the net to put the Diplomats ahead. Lynchburg responded with four of the next five goals to take a 9-7 lead into halftime. A penalty would help the Diplomats in the opening minutes of the third period as a slash by Joe Matta provided F&M a one minute man-up opportunity 56 seconds in. F&M converted as Welsh put in a score at 13:40 of the third, and the Diplomats tied the game 41 seconds later as Bryan Nolan (Sr., Scottsdale, AZ/Western Reserve) finished a feed from Smith to knot the score at 9-9 with 12:59 left in the period. The Diplomats took the lead with 9:58 left as Welsh found Smith in front of the cage to go ahead 10-9. However, a pushing penalty provided the Hornets' with a chance to sting the Blue and White as Billy McCulloch ripped a shot that sailed into the net to tie the score at the 8:25 mark of the third period. F&M controlled the ball much of the last five minutes of the period, but an illegal substitution call with 1:33 left on the clock provided the Hornets' another scoring chance. Nine seconds after the call to turn the ball over at midfield, Reinecke put a shot just inside the right post to put Lynchburg ahead 11-10. The Hornets' stung the Diplomats again with 10:49 left in the fourth as Reinecke converted on a feed from Brandon Childs to put Lynchburg ahead by two and set-up the comeback win. In goal, Mike Sartorius (So., Summit, NJ/Summit) made 22 saves on 34 shots to keep his team in the game. Overall, the two teams were evenly matched as Lynchburg held a 46-45 advantage in shots, while F&M won 14-of-27 face-offs. The game marks F&M's first postseason victory in the NCAA tournament since the 1988 team advanced to the Final Four. Overall, this year's team marks the fourth year the Diplomats have advanced to the tournament (1988, 1990, 1995).
F&M (12-3) 4-3-3-2-1-13
Lynchburg (12-5) 5-4-2-1-0-12
Goals
F&M - Steve Welsh (4), Jon Singer (3), Beau Smith (3), Bas Solleveld, Colin Hanley, Bryan Nolan
LC - Kevin Reinecke (4), Paul Venturella (3), Brandon Childs (2), Bill McCulloch, Logan Short, Andy Sinclair Assists
F&M - Jon Singer (2), Beau Smith, Bas Solleveld, Steve Welsh, Matt Capone
LC - Brandon Childs (3), Kip Campbell, Bill McCulloch, Kevin Reinecke Shots
F&M - 45
LC - 46 Penalties
F&M - 6 for 4:00
LC - 6 for 4:00 Man-Up
F&M - 5 of 6
LC - 1 of 6 Faceoffs
F&M - 14 of 27
LC - 13 of 27 Clears
F&M - 23 of 34
LC - 21 of 27 Goalies
F&M - Mike Sartorius (12 goals, 22 saves)
LC - Nick Braun (13 goals, 12 saves)
|
