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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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Metzger got one back for Oneonta before Clark scored again for the Blue Jays to give them the 9-6 lead.
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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.
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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)
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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)
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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
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