For immediate release - 3/30/2013 - #330

#8 LC Men's Lax Falls Short, 12-11, Despite Late Fourth Quarter Rally

OWINGS MILLS, MD—The eighth-ranked Lynchburg College men's lacrosse team pushed #5 Stevenson to the brink on Saturday evening, scoring four goals in the final 3:39 to force overtime before falling to the Mustangs, 12-11, in non-conference action.

LC entered the fourth quarter down 10-6 after being outscored 4-1 in the third period. Cullan Ganley began to turn the momentum the way of the Hornets early in the fourth, scoring an unassisted goal less than three minutes in. Neither team would be able to net a goal in the next six minutes as the defenses locked down the opposing attacks. Stevenson's Dylan Muti broke through with 5:27 remaining to extending the Mustang lead back to four, 11-7.

The Hornets would take advantage of several penalties to take control of the remainder of regulation. A Stevenson holding penalty set up a great scoring opportunity for Aaron Murphy as Campbell Armstrong got the assist. A minute later, Armstrong found Murphy again, taking advantage of another man-up opportunity. LC, 0-3 on man-up chances earlier in the game, made it count by going 2-3 in the fourth quarter.

Armstrong cut the lead to one, 11-10, 40 seconds later as he found a hole in the Stevenson defense, while Austin Stewart found Derek Sweet with 39 seconds left to tie up the game. Lynchburg had several opportunities but was turned away by Mustang keeper Dimitri Pecunes.

Lynchburg had the first opportunity in overtime as Vin Curran managed to battle for the face-off long enough to give Max Voumard an opportunity to scoop it and run a fast break down the field. A shot went wide and Stevenson was able to clear it before a Lynchburg penalty granted the Mustangs a man-up chance. Stevenson (9-1) capitalized, one of just two man-up goals the Mustangs scored in the game, when Chris Dashiell found Michael Crowe 1:17 into overtime.

The Hornets were outscored 9-2 in the first and third quarters, but used a 4-1 run in the second quarter to cut the Mustang gap to one, 6-5, heading into halftime. LC got two goals in that second period from Stewart in addition to a goal each from Pat Ohrem and Sweet.

Sweet led the Hornets with four goals, giving him his first hat trick of the season, to go with two assists. Murphy and Stewart had two goals each, while Stewart added an assist. Armstrong tied for the team-lead with two assists to go along with his goal. Adam Davey tied his career-high with 19 saves.

The Hornets (8-2/3-0) host Randolph Wednesday, April 3 on Shellenberger Field. Opening face-off in the Old Dominion Athletic Conference (ODAC) match is scheduled for 7 p.m.

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