Phillylacrosse.com, Posted 4/11/21
From Press Release
Junior attackman Levi Anderson scored the game-winner at the 2:32 mark of overtime to lift the Saint Joseph’s men’s lacrosse squad to a 13-12 win over Hobart in Northeast Conference action at Urick Stadium on Saturday afternoon. With their fifth consecutive win, the Hawks improve to 5-3 overall (5-0 NEC).
Trailing by four entering the fourth quarter, the Hawks rallied to score five of the final six goals of regulation to force overtime.
“I am so happy and proud of our guys,” said head coach Taylor Wray following the win. “They showed incredible resolve in the second half. The defense tightened up and Tucker [Almany] was able to gather himself and make some incredible stops in cage. I thought we rode them really well and made some awesome hustle plays on the ground.”
Six of the last eight meetings against Hobart have been one-goal games, with five of them being decided in overtime.
“I told the guys all week to prepare for a one-goal game in the fourth quarter, and their ability to claw back in from down five showed incredible grit and toughness. This was a character-builder for sure.”
Sophomore attackman Matt Bohmer (3g, 1a) and senior midfielder Evan Campbell (1g, 3a) dropped four points apiece while senior attackman Matt Tufano (2g, 1a) and Anderson (3g) added three points apiece.
Junior face-off specialist Zach Cole (Lenape) went 14-of-28 from the X, which included a 5-of-7 showing in the fourth quarter and the big face-off win in overtime.
Senior long stick defensive midfielder Sean Voelkel and junior close defenseman Logan Blondell (Southern Lehigh) registered two caused turnovers apiece while in net, senior goalkeeper Tucker Almany made 10 saves in 60:15, playing all but the final 1:13 of the first half. Defenseman Pat Clemens (Springfield-Delco) had four groundballs and a caused turnover.
How It Happened
• Hobart jumped out to a 3-1 edge by the 4:31 mark of the first quarter before the Hawks ripped off three consecutive goals from Bohmer (1Q, :12), Tufano (2Q, 12:39), and Bohmer again (2Q, 11:17) to pull ahead, 4-3, to open the second quarter.
• Hobart (3-2, 3-2 NEC) then scored six in a row to take a dominating five-goal lead, 9-4, into the final 3:21 of the first half. Junior midfielder Tucker Brown scored on a Campbell feed with 23 ticks remaining before the intermission to close the Hawks’ deficit to four, 9-5.
• The Hawks and Statesmen alternated goals in the third as Hobart held its four-goal lead, 11-7, heading into the fourth quarter.
• Saint Joseph’s scored back-to-back goals to open the fourth as Campbell hit the back of the net just 52 seconds in (4Q, 14:08) and Cole took a feed from junior short stick defensive midfielder Adam Ritter and buried his second of the year just 12 seconds later (Q4, 13:58).
• Anderson put away his second of the day and 14th of the season (Q4, 8:53) to pull the Hawks to within one, 11-10, and after Hobart’s Bradley Simas scored (Q4, 6:57), Bohmer assisted on graduate student long stick midfield captain Liam Hare’s first of the year (4Q, 6:45) and then went and completed his hat trick (4Q, 4:24), with the equalizer, assisted by junior attackman Ryan Doran.
• Tufano saw the only remaining look on goal among either team with 1:00 to play in regulation, but Hobart goalkeeper Kevin Holtby came up with the save.
• Cole won the face-off in overtime, with Doran earning the possession with the ground ball.
• After another Tufano shot was saved (OT, 3:39) and a pair of shots went high from Doran and Anderson, Anderson barreled through Hobart’s defense and fired off the game-winner at the 2:32 mark for the win.