No. 12 Men’s Lacrosse Wins Overtime Thriller

After heading into overtime, senior attacker Ryan Slane finished the script with the game-winning goal three and a half minutes in, as the no. 12 ranked men’s lacrosse team (8-3) upset tenth-ranked Dowling College (8-3) 10-9, in dramatic fashion Saturday, April 16, in an East Coast Conference tilt at Bethpage Federal Credit Union Stadium in Brookville, N.Y.

Slane ended the duel after finding the back of the net on the Pioneers’ third man-up opportunity on the afternoon. Golden Lions freshman defender Tom Cummings was slapped with a one-minute tripping penalty, leading to Slane’s game-winning shot, which he ripped by red-shirt junior goalie Frank Sommers.

Although the Golden Lions seemed to control their own destiny up 9-7 with four minutes remaining, the Pioneers had other plans; as they notched a pair of goals in the final 3:43 of regulation to force sudden death. Sophomore midfielder Eric Donahoe cashed in with his first goal of the season to spark the comeback making it a 9-8 score.

The Pioneers still trailed 9-8 with under a minute to go until Slane followed up Donahoe’s tally with an unassisted goal at the 0:35

mark. Head Coach John Jez dialed up Slane’s number and he delivered for the Green and Gold, evening up the score at nine.

Overall, Slane finished as the leading scoring with five points (4 G, 1 A) and senior attackers Matty Beccaris and Matt Bellando each registered two goals. Junior midfielder Anthony Galeotafiore won 14-of-20 face-offs, including the pivotal draw that began overtime. In addition, he also collected 10 ground balls on the day.

Between the pipes, junior goaltender Matthew Liantonio recorded nine saves, while causing one turnover and adding one ground ball to his stat-line. (Liantonio’s forced turnover led to Slane’s game-tying goal in the final moments of the fourth quarter.)

The Green and Gold converted on 12-of-13 clears, outshot the Golden Lions 39-34 and held a slim 22-21 advantage in ground balls.

Jez and his Pioneer squad look to build on their four-game-winning-streak as they prepare to square off against ECC rival, Mercy Col- lege, on Saturday, April 23, at Bethpage Federal Credit Union Stadium in Brookville, N.Y. Opening draw is at 12 p.m.