Phillylacrosse.com, Posted 3/13/22
From Press Release
It was another thrilling game for the No. 6/5 University of Pennsylvania men’s lacrosse team on Sunday afternoon as the Quakers erased a late deficit to defeat Villanova, 8-7, in the first-ever Farrell Cup.
James Shipley continued his late-game heroics with the game-tying goal with under 90 seconds remaining before Dylan Gergar netted the game-winning strike with less than a second remaining to give Penn (3-1) its third straight victory.
Quaker Notemeal
*Penn has won three consecutive one-goal games.
*The Quakers avenged a 12-10 loss to the Wildcats in 2020 with the win. It also marked Penn’s second straight win at Villanova.
*Sam Handley led the offensive charge for the Red and Blue with two goals and an assist.
*Dylan Gergar scored two goals and had a team-high five GBs.
*Patrick Burkinshaw made 13 saves in a winning effort. He is 3-0 this season. Burkinshaw has made 10 or more saves seven consecutive games dating back to 2020.
*The game was the first-ever Farrell Cup honoring former Penn men’s lacrosse captain James Farrell and his brother, Michael.
How It Happened
Penn scored the first two goals of the game with Cam Rubin and Sam Handley both finding the back of the cage in the first five-plus minutes of action. Villanova responded with two unanswered goals over the next four minutes to tie the game at two.
Handley capped the scoring in the opening quarter with a nice, individual effort to give the Quakers a 3-2 lead heading into the second frame.
Jack Schultz gave Penn a two-goal advantage early in the second stanza before the Wildcats answered once again with two unanswered goals to tie the contest at four with 9:28 left to go in the opening half.
The Red and Blue responded with two straight markers to take a 6-4 edge into halftime. Ben Smith potted his first collegiate tally and Gergar scored his first of the day to give the Quakers their second two-goal lead of the half.
The Penn offense was slowed during the third quarter and Villanova scored two goals to tie the game at six heading into the fourth quarter.
The Wildcats took their first lead of the game with 6:54 left in regulation. It marked Villanova’s third unanswered goal.
With just under 80 seconds remaining in the fourth quarter, Shipley tied the game at seven with his sixth marker of the year. It marked the third game in a row that Shipley has scored either a game-winning or game-tying goal late in the fourth quarter.
After a big defensive stop, Tyler Kuehl collected a groundball with eight seconds left and he raced towards the offensive end. In transition, Kuehl found Gergar who scored his 16th goal of the season in style.
For the ‘Cats, Matt Campbell had three goals and two assists and Patrick Daly had three goals while defenseman Chris Hervada (Haverford School) had two groundballs and two caused turnovers.
Justin Coppola was 13-for-18 from the faceoff x with seven ground balls. Chet Comizio and Brody LaPorte each caused three turnovers while Comizio had six ground balls and LaPorte five. Will Vitton finished with six saves.
Lehigh 17, Holy Cross 7
Mike Sisselberger (Southern Lehigh) won 20 of 26 faceoffs, Christian Mile had five goals and an assist and Quinn Armstrong scored three goals while Matt Marker (Allentown Central Catholic) had two goals and an assist for the Mountain Hawks. Lehigh is 3-2 and 2-0 in the Patriot League.
Also, senior Tommy Schelling had a goal and career-high six assists. Defensively, graduate student Teddy Leggett recorded six groundballs and five caused turnovers, moving from fifth into a tie for second in program history in career caused turnovers. Leggett began Sunday with 68-career caused turnovers, passing Mike Noone (71) and tying Eddie Bouhall (73) when all was said and done.