GREENEVILLE, Tenn. --- Josh Campbell scored 2:54 into overtime and the University of Alabama Huntsville defense held Tusculum University to one goal in the final 40 minutes of regulation as the Chargers defeated the Pioneers 9-8 in overtime in non-conference men's lacrosse action Saturday at Pioneer Field.
The Chargers (2-2) trailed 7-3 with 10 minutes left in the second quarter, but rallied to take an 8-7 lead on a goal by Kevin Coppinger with 1:12 remaining. The Pioneers (2-3) forced overtime on a goal by Lorenz Brown with 10 seconds left, but Campbell scored on the only shot attempt of overtime to give the Chargers the win.
Liam Macdonald and Kale Lawrence each scored two goals and added an assist for the Pioneers, while Brown had two goals and AJ Hems contributed a goal and an assist. Braden Elam also had a goal and Jordan Daniel finished with three assists for Tusculum, which outshot UAH 33-29 but were shut down by Charger keeper Zak Welsh, who had 18 saves in the match.
Emory Weaver had two goals and an assist for Alabama Huntsville, with two goals from Coppinger and a goal and an assist apiece from Adam Zois and Reid Vender. The Chargers went 3-for-5 with the man advantage and forced the Pioneers into two turnovers in the overtime period. Tusculum dominated on faceoffs, as Andy Michalski finished 16-for-21 at the dot and had five ground balls for the Pioneers.
UAH opened the scoring 2:29 into the first quarter on a man-up goal from Weaver, but Tusculum came back with four straight as Elam, Lawrence, Hems and Macdonald teamed up to give the Pioneers a 4-1 lead with 3:51 left in the first quarter.
The Pioneers led 4-2 after one period, and picked up goals from Lawrence and Brown less than a minute apart to take a 6-2 lead with 12:47 to play in the first half. Brody Phillips cut the deficit to 6-3 with a goal less than a minute after Brown, but Macdonald scored with the man up with 10:03 to play in the half for a 7-3 Pioneer lead. UAH closed the quarter with goals from Vender with 8:10 left and another man-up goal from Weaver with 1:57 to play to cut the Tusculum lead to 6-4 at halftime.
Alabama Huntsville scored the only goal of the third quarter, as Coppinger tallied with 12:46 remaining to pull the Chargers within 7-6. The score remained 7-6 for the next 23 minutes, 45 seconds until Zois scored with 4:01 left to tie the game at 7-7. Coppinger put the Chargers ahead with 1:12 remaining, but Brown delivered the equalizer with 10 seconds to go to send the match into overtime.
Tusculum had the first possession of overtime, but turned the ball over 45 seconds into the possession. UAH looked for the win, but turned the ball back to the Pioneers with 2:40 left. Tusculum looked for the winning shot but gave the ball up on a shot-clock violation, combined with a delay of game penalty. UAH needed just 15 seconds to get the winning goal as Weaver found Campbell in the middle of the defense for the clincher.
On defense, Edgar had five ground balls for the Pioneers while Macdonald had five and Nash Johnson added four. Johnson and Quinn McKitrick each had a pair of caused turnovers, as the Pioneers forced the Chargers into 10 of their 18 turnovers in the match. Connor Evers and Welsh shared the team lead with four ground balls for the Chargers, with two caused turnovers apiece for David Spuhl, Campbell and David Arway.
Ross Geiger finished with seven saves in goal for the Pioneers, making five of his seven stops in the second half. Tusculum, which outshot UAH 21-13 in the first half, was outshot 16-12 by the Chargers in the second half and overtime. Tusculum was 16-for-18 on clears while Alabama Huntsville went 22-for-25, including 8-for-8 in the fourth quarter and overtime.
Tusculum will open its South Atlantic Conference schedule on Saturday, March 7 at 7 p.m. at Newberry.