Men's Lacrosse Pulls off Overtime Win Against Manhattan, 9-8
March 27, 2007
PHILADELPHIA - Saint Joseph's men's Lacrosse notched its second straight overtime victory Tuesday, at Finnesey Field, in a rescheduled game against Manhattan. The Hawks beat the Jaspers, 9-8, with 2:04 remaining in the first overtime period. Steve Varga scored the game-winning goal for the Hawks, it was his second straight this season. Manhattan jumped out to an early lead, getting two on the board in the first four minutes of play. With 9:00 remaining in the first quarter, Peter Slowik put the Hawks on the board with an assist by Alex Lopes, the first of a five-goal run. The goal kicked the Hawk offense into high gear and SJU tied the game less than a minute later with Tom Wegenosky scoring his first goal of the season. A minute later Alex McColough added his first of two to the tally to take the lead for the Hawks, a lead they would hold onto until the last two minutes of the game. With under a minute to play in the first period, Varga notched his first of two goals for the day, off a quick pass from Mike O'Neill. The second period started with a rash of penalties that neither team capitalized on. The first score of the period finally came with 5:44 remaining as McColough ran it in after a completed clear. The Jaspers answered back with a goal of their own but Jeff Beall quickly notched another goal for the Hawks, making the score 6-3. The Jaspers opened up the second half strong, cutting the deficit to within one until Chris O'Neill managed to turn to momentum back in favor of the Hawks with a goal at 6:33. McColough quickly added another to the Hawks' tally, completing his hat trick for the day. Fierce back and fourth action followed but the time expired as Varga sailed a shot wide.
Both teams came out in the last quarter with even more intensity. Manhattan managed to cut the lead to one with 11:23 remaining in regulation and then went on to tie it up just under the two-minute mark. Saint Joseph's earned a man-up opportunity with 00:30 remaining but were unable to capitalize, sending the game into overtime. Saint Joseph's nabbed 20 ground balls compared to 17 and out-shot Manhattan 35-29. The hawks completed 20 clears. Sophomore goalkeeper Erik Hotaling played all 61:56 of action and made 12 saves for the day. The Hawks return to action Saturday, March 31st as they travel to Providence. Game time is set for 1:00 pm. |
