They had to wait one day, but it was definitely worth it for the SUNY Oneonta men's lacrosse team, as they opened 2015 with a thrilling, come-from-behind, 10-9 victory against Elizabethtown in the second overtime.  The Red Dragons trailed the Blue Jays, 9-6, with 5:21 remaining before they stormed back with three unanswered to force overtime.
 
After killing off a penalty that carried over into the second overtime, freshman Hunter DeLuca (Medford/Patchogue Medford) took a long pass from classmate Alec Solomito (Holtsville/Sachem East) off a clear for Oneonta.  DeLuca wasted no time in going to goal where he punched in the game-winner at the 3:23 mark.  DeLuca notched two goals on the day including one at 3:59 of the fourth period to bring Oneonta to within a goal at 9-8.
 
Trailing 9-6, junior Connor Coyle (Centerport/Harborfields) scored an unassisted goal before DeLuca's.  The game-tying goal came from Daniel King (Hauppauge/Hauppauge) off an assist from Robert Neubert (Lake Ronkonkoma/Sachem East).  The goal for the Red Dragons came with an extra man after a slashing penalty was called against the hosts.
 
Oneonta trailed, 3-2, at the end of the first period of play.  An unassisted goal by junior Wesley Banks (Centerport/Harborfields) put the Red Dragons on the scoreboard at 12:58.  Classmate Mike Metzger (Colonie/Colonie) scored with 19 seconds remaining in the opening period to pull Oneonta to within one goal.
 
Oneonta tallied three scores in the second period including a man-up goal by King, which gave Oneonta its first lead of the contest at 4-3.  Sophomores Charles Montgomery (Pleasantville/Pleasantville) and Robert Neubert (Lake Ronkonkoma/Sachem East) had the other two goals for Oneonta, as they carried a 5-4 lead into halftime.
 
A pair of goals by Joe Clark in the third period was all that happened, as the Blue Jays carried a 6-5 lead into the final period.  Two early scores including a man-up goal put Elizabethtown ahead 8-5 with just over 11 minutes to play.
 
Metzger got one back for Oneonta before Clark scored again for the Blue Jays to give them the 9-6 lead.
 
Junior Ryan Adler (Smithtown/Smithtown West) made 16 saves in his Oneonta debut including five in the fourth period and one in the first overtime.  A few of those shots came from close range, which Adler handled for the Red Dragons.
 
ONEONTA SCORING:
Goals: Dan King (2); Hunter DeLuca (Medford/Patchogue Medford) (2); Mike Metzger (Colonie/Colonie) (2); Charles Montgomery (Pleasantville/Pleasantville) (1); Robert Neubert (Lake Ronkonkoma/Sachem East) (1); Connor Coyle (Centerport/Harborfields) (1); Wesley Banks (Centerport/Harborfields) (1)
Assists: Nathan Doody (Tully/Tully) (1); Robert Neubert (Lake Ronkonkoma/Sachem East) (1); Connor Coyle (Centerport/Harborfields) (1); Taylor Kalbacher (Syosset/Syosset) (1); John Shea (Huntington/Huntington) (1); Hunter DeLuca (Medford/Patchogue Medford) (1); Mike Metzger (Colonie/Colonie) (1); Alec Solomito (Holtsville/Sachem East) (1)
 
ELIZABETHTOWN SCORING:
Goals: Joe Clark (6); Connor Rowe (1); Russ LeClair (1); Nick Specht (1)
Assists: Joe Clark (2); Jordan Bowser (1); Jimmy Waters (1); Kevin Meakim (1); Jason Clough (1); Jake Snyder (1)
 
SHOTS: Oneonta 34, Elizabethtown 47
EXTRA MAN: Oneonta 2-6, Elizabethtown 2-8
SAVES: Ryan Adler (Smithtown/Smithtown West) (O) 16, Chris Wenger (E) 13
GROUND BALLS: Oneonta 46, Elizabethtown 40
FACE-OFFS WON: Oneonta 14, Elizabethtown 9