ONEONTA, N.Y. -- The Oneonta men's lacrosse team trailed by four with 12 minutes to play then they scored five straight, including the game-winning goal with one second left in regulation, for a 14-13 comeback victory against Brockport on Saturday afternoon in their home opener at Red Dragon Field. Junior
Thomas Hnis (Smithtown, N.Y./Kings Park) scored the game-winner and led both sides with four goals and an assist for five points. The Red Dragons improved to 1-1 overall with the win, while the Golden Eagles dropped to 0-2 this season.
Senior
Jamie O'Neil (Bath, N.Y./Haverling) ended the day with two goals and two assists for four points, along with two ground balls. Senior
Daniel Macchiarella (Guilderland, N.Y./Guilderland) and junior
Finn Morris (Long Beach, N.Y./Long Beach) both recorded a hat-trick, while freshman
Ryan Babikian (Jamesville, NY/Jamesville-Dewitt) registered his first collegiate goal and finished with two in the win. Sophomore
Tommy Hyland (Smithtown, NY/Smithtown) earned his first points as a Red Dragon with two assists.
"Today was a tough game," Head Coach
Pete Owens commented. "Brockport is a well-coached team that made a lot of good plays."
Oneonta entered the fourth quarter trailing 11-8 until Brockport's Rorick Perry scored at 13:22 to go up four. O'Neil scored his second of the game 40 seconds after Perry, then the Golden Eagles scored shortly after O'Neil to regain the four-goal advantage.
"To win on a day when we didn't have our best stuff is a good sign," Coach Owens continued. "I think it speaks to the character of the team. Very proud of the fourth quarter effort from our guys."
Down four with 12:12 to play, the Red Dragons rallied a string of goals and tied the game with 4:08 remaining in regulation. Macchiarella started the run with a goal from an assist from Hnis, then the Red Dragon senior fired one in to record his hatty a minute later. Hnis used a screen from sophomore
Riley Royals (New Hyde Park, NY/Herricks) to run up towards the top of the zone and ripped in his third goal of the contest at 5:09. Morris tied the game a minute later after he received the ball from junior
Ryan Lussier (Burnt Hills, N.Y./Burnt Hills Ballston Lake), juked past a defender, and scored through the five-hole of Brockport's goalie for his hat trick.
Red Dragon sophomore keeper
Mark Restivo (Merrick, NY/Sanford H. Calhoun) made a key save off a shot directly in front of him with 1:14 left in regulation, then Oneonta was awarded a man-up advantage after Brockport was tagged with a one-minute penalty. After working the ball around, O'Neil took the first attempt during the extra man but went wide, and both teams called a timeout with 13 seconds left. Following the timeouts, O'Neil passed it to the left side to junior
Aidan Boyle (Yorktown Heights, N.Y./Yorktown) for a shot that went wide with five seconds on the clock. Oneonta retained possession and had Hyland restart play behind the net. Hyland took a few steps in then he found Hnis cutting between several defenders towards the net for the game-winning goal, his 10th goal of the season.
Oneonta started the game down until they scored five straight goals for a 5-1 lead at 4:35 in the first. Hnis and O'Neil both began the day, and the early run, with an unassisted goal, then O'Neil passed it to Babikian in the middle of the zone where the Oneonta freshman leaped for the ball then lasered it into the net for his first collegiate goal. Morris scored his first goal of the game after he spun off his defender for an open shot, and Macchiarella capped off the stretch with a goal off an assist from senior
Brian Zecchini (Oakdale, N.Y./Connetquot).
Brockport answered back during the end of the first quarter and beginning of the second with a 6-1 run to take a 7-6 lead with 3:48 to play in the first half. As time was winding down in the half, Hnis had the ball and sprinted past his defender for a one-on-one with the goalie and scored to tie the game at seven with five seconds left before the break.
Babikian recorded his second goal during a man-up advantage with an assist from Hyland at 12:26 in the third. The Golden Eagles closed out the third with four straight goals to go up 11-8 before they collapsed in the fourth.
Restivo finished the game with 14 saves in net for Oneonta and totaled two ground balls. Jared Kulik ended with 21 saves for Brockport.
The Red Dragons finished 18-for-31 in faceoffs and held a 29-27 ground ball advantage. Sophomore
Sean Grimes (Croton-on-Hudson, N.Y./Croton Harmon) went 8-for-12 on faceoffs with the game-high six ground balls, and junior
Nathan Nurse (Brooklyn, N.Y./Uncommon Collegiate Charter) was 10-for-19 on faceoffs with five ground balls. Senior
Aidan Greene (Smithtown, NY/Smithtown West) picked up five ground balls and caused two turnovers, while Lussier had two ground balls and caused a turnover.
Oneonta outshot Brockport 55-37 in total shots, 35-27 with shots on goal, and were 13-for-17 on clears and 2-for-5 with the extra man. The Golden Eagles were 16-for-20 on clears and 0-for-2 in the man-up. Brockport was led by Michael Dowden and Daniel Stiles as both recorded two goals and two assists, and Pierson Jacobs scored three times.
The Red Dragons are back in action on Wednesday, February 25, for a road game against Skidmore starting at 4 pm.
