Syracuse, N.Y. (LE MOYNE ATHLETICS) – Junior midfielder Kyle Caves (Liverpool, N.Y./Liverpool) scored with 35 seconds left to give the top-ranked Le Moyne College men’s lacrosse team a 9-8 come-from-behind victory over ninth-ranked Saint Anselm College on Saturday afternoon in Northeast-10 Conference action at Ted Grant Field.
“Lots to learn from another top-10 win,” said head coach Dan Sheehan. “We can and will get better, which is fantastic. More big game experience for many of our guys that will only help us down the road.”
The Dolphins opened the game with three goals over the first 7:11. Redshirt sophomore midfielder Ethan Loun (West Linn, Ore./West Linn) started the scoring at the 11:25 mark with his seventh goal of the season. After a turnover by each team, fifth-year midfielder Sam Lambert (Victor, N.Y./Victor) fired in his fourth goal of the year with 8:34 left in the quarter. Just 45 seconds later, junior attackman Joey Pezzimenti (Victor, N.Y./Victor/UAlbany) tallied his 10th goal of the campaign after collecting a pass from junior midfielder Sam Cary (Fulton, N.Y./G. Ray Bodley) to force a Saint Anselm timeout.
The Hawks got on the scoreboard at the 5:49 mark as Jack Andrews finished off a pass from Chase Lilly.
Le Moyne took advantage of a Saint Anselm penalty to regain its three-goal lead midway through the second quarter. Off a feed from behind the net from junior swingman Seth Benedict (Stanley, N.Y./Marcus Whitman), sophomore attackman Isaac Frechette (Manlius, N.Y./Fayetteville-Manlius) found the back of the net at the 6:36 mark for his eighth goal of the season.
Saint Anselm scored the final three goals of the quarter to even the score. Andrews got the Hawks back within two with 5:21 remaining for his eighth goal of the year. Following a possession clock violation on the Dolphins, Lilly tallied his fifth goal of the season with 1:52 left following a pass from Noah Larsen. Andrews tied the score at four just as time expired in the half.
The Hawks extended their run to five straight goals with the first two of the third quarter. Jack Robinson put his team in front at the 11:53 mark off a feed from Joe Lombardi. Nick Larsen pushed the margin to two with 9:02 left in the period with his fourth goal of the season.
The Dolphins put a stop to the Saint Anselm run and their scoring drought of 19:32 with 2:04 left in the quarter as Frechette finished off a feed from senior midfielder Joel Firth (Cicero, N.Y./Cicero-North Syracuse).
Off the ensuing faceoff, Nick Larsen scooped up the loose ball off a lengthy scramble and raced in to net his fifth goal of the season with 1:47 left.
The Dolphins tallied the first two goals of the fourth quarter to tie the score at seven. Following a turnover by the Hawks, Loun scored 35 seconds later to get the Dolphins within one. Sophomore attackman Ryan Eisenmann (Boca Raton, Fla./Boca Raton) knotted the score with 4:53 remaining from the edge of the crease off a curl around the left post.
Saint Anselm regained the lead just 45 seconds later on Chris Claflin’s third goal of the season.
Saint Anselm won the ensuing faceoff and ran almost a minute off the clock, but then threw the ball away.
Following an errant shot by the Dolphins, Loun started with the ball on the right side of the field with 15 seconds left on the possession clock. He cut towards the center of the field, spun around his defender and slipped a shot into the back of the net as he slid in front of the crease with five seconds on the possession clock and 1:55 remaining in the game.
After the Dolphins won the ensuing faceoff and called timeout once in their offensive end, Benedict received the ball on the right side of the field and then cut towards the endline, drawing a second defender. After spinning back towards midfield, he fired a pass across the field to Caves, who took a step before blasting a shot into the back of the net with seven seconds left on the possession clock and 34.5 seconds remaining in the quarter to put the Dolphins in front.
The Dolphins won the ensuing faceoff and worked 23 seconds off the clock before committing a turnover. Saint Anselm worked the ball up field and made its way to the restraining line, but senior defenseman Nick Noel (Fulton, N.Y./G. Ray Bodley) stood up the ball carrier, who dropped the ball and time ran out.
Graduate student goalkeeper Matt Vavonese (Syracuse, N.Y./Christian Brothers Academy/Canisius) registered seven saves, including five in the second quarter, in earning the win between the pipes, while adding five ground balls. David Olsen also made seven saves, including three in the third quarter, in suffering his first loss of the season.
Le Moyne (5-0, 1-0 NE10), which improves to 25-0 in conference action against the Hawks and 31-1 overall, returns to action next Saturday at Southern New Hampshire University at 1:00 p.m.
