Brooks Long scored with 2:22 left in overtime to give Coker
College an 11-10 victory over Tusculum College in a South Atlantic
Conference men's lacrosse match Saturday afternoon at Pioneer
Park.
Long's goal broke the last of nine ties in a game that saw the
Cobras lead six times and the Pioneers three times, with the only
two-goal margin coming in a five-minute span between the second and
third quarters.
Mike Martiello scored three goals and had three assists for the
Cobras (4-9, 3-3 SAC) while Rylee Marsh had three goals and an
assist in the victory. Andrew Kransberger had two goals and an
assist for the Pioneers (3-8, 2-4 SAC) with two goals apiece from
Tyler Klarner and Ben Boyd.
Dallas Wade had a goal and two assists for the Pioneers, including
the tying goal with 3:13 left that forced the overtime period. In
the extra session, the Cobras won the faceoff and worked the ball
around until Long was able to fire home his second of the game and
give the Cobras the win.
Tusculum scored the first goal of the game as Boyd netted a man-up
goal with 9:23 left in the first quarter. Shane Wilson scored with
3:09 left to tie the game at 1-1 for Coker, but Klarner answered
with 55 seconds to go to put the Pioneers back on top 2-1. Marsh
tied the game with two seconds remaining to tie the game at 2-2
after one quarter.
Wilson's second of the game gave Coker its first lead at 3-2 with
12:56 left in the second quarter, but Kransberger and Ross Parsons
scored 14 seconds apart to put Tusculum back ahead 4-3 with 11:08
remaining in the half. Howevere, Marsh scored twice and Long once
as the Cobras took a 6-4 lead to intermission.
Tusculum came back to tie the game at 6-6 early in the third
quarter on goals from Kransberger and Nate Wade, and from there the
teams would alternate goals the rest of the game. Martiello's first
goal of the day put Coker back ahead 7-6 with 6:42 left in the
third quarter, only to see the game tied again at 7-7 on a goal
from Chris Ryan. After Adam Zinsmeister put the Cobras back on top
8-7 with 3:18 left in the period, Boyd netted the tying goal with
1:32 left to send the teams to the fourth quarter tied 8-8.
Martiello scored with 10:12 remaining for a 9-8 Coker lead, but
Klarner's second of the day tied the game with 7:54 left.
Martiello's restored Coker's lead at 10-9 with 4:28 to go, but
Dallas Wade found the equalizer with 3:13 remaining. Long nearly
won the game in regulation for the Cobras, but he put a shot off
the post with 1:09 left. Tusculum's last shot came off the stick of
Klarner in the final 10 seconds, but went wide of the goal.
Tusculum finished the game with identical 27-23 margins in shots
and ground balls, while Coker won 13 of the game's 24 faceoffs.
Tusculum was 1-for-2 with the man advantage, while the Cobras
failed in their only extra-man opportunity.
The Pioneers were led on defense by Jake Smith, who collected 11
ground balls. Parsons had six ground balls and went 11-for-22 at
the faceoff dot for the Pioneers. For the Cobras, Josh Smith had
three ground balls and was 6-for-11 on faceoffs, with Patrick
Timothee and DeShaun Ormond also tallying three ground balls in the
game.
Both goalkeepers finished with eight saves in the game, with
Coker's Anthony Malik making four stops in both the second and
third quarters. Tusculum goalie Kevin Haggerty had four saves in
each half as he faced just 19 shots on goal in the contest.
Tusculum returns to action on Wednesday night when the Pioneers
welcome Mars Hill for a 7 p.m. South Atlantic Conference matchup at
Pioneer Field.