#5 Men's Lacrosse Mounts Furious Rally to Top #7 LIU Post, 10-9, Saturday on Long Island
Links: Box Score
BROOKVILLE, N.Y. – Trailing by six goals with just over 20 minutes to play, the fifth-ranked Merrimack College men's lacrosse team mounted a furious rally and scored seven unanswered goals – including the game-winner off the stick of sophomore Tucker Schwarz (Tallahassee, Fla.) with 12 seconds left – to lift the Warriors to a character-defining, come-from-behind victory, 10-9, at seventh-ranked LIU Post on Saturday at Bethpage Federal Credit Union Stadium.
The Basics
Score: #5 Merrimack 10, #7 LIU Post 9
Records: #5 Merrimack (8-1) | #7 LIU Post (9-2)
Location: Bethpage FCU Stadium | Brookville, N.Y.
What They Said
Head Coach Mike Morgan: "We learned a ton about our team's character today. We challenged them when we were down by six, in a hostile environment, and didn't get down on ourselves. We kept things simple, took it goal-by-goal, and managed to pull out a huge regional victory."
How It Happened
Squaring off against last year's national runner-up, Merrimack made the voyage down to Long Island looking for its second straight win against the Pioneers after a thrilling one-goal victory last April in North Andover.
Both sides combined for seven goals in a back-and-forth first quarter; Merrimack took a 2-1 lead but the Pioneers responded with three of the next four goals to put the hosts ahead, 4-3, after 15 minutes. Momentum stayed in the favor of the Pioneers, as LIU reeled struck for three more markers in the second stanza to take a 7-3 lead into the locker room.
The Pioneers padded their lead with two more goals in the third, and with 5:50 left in the frame, the Warriors were staring at a six-goal deficit, down 9-3 in the contest.
But the visitors would not fold, as junior Ryan Poirier (Warwick, R.I.) got the rally going with a quick strike off the ensuing faceoff and then, just over 20 seconds later, senior Kyle Guilbert (Walpole, Mass.) found the back of the net and drew a subsequent extra-man opportunity that the Warriors would quickly cash in on, and, just like that, it was a three-goal affair.
Before the period ended, though, Schwarz would make it a two-goal game thanks to his second consecutive tally with 25 seconds left in the period, setting the stage for a dramatic finish.
After dodging a bullet when LIU hit a post early in the fourth, Merrimack kept the momentum on its side and staged a long offensive possession in the Pioneer defensive end before senior Jamie Shand (Massapequa, N.Y.) tickled the twine with 8:20 left on the clock, and suddenly it was 9-8.
Both teams had chances to add goals off the ensuing faceoff, but with less than four to play, Merrimack regained possession and charged into LIU territory and set up its attack. Finally, with 2:43 on the clock, sophomore Max Allen (West Caldwell, N.J.) ripped the equalizer home to level the game at 9-all.
LIU still had plenty of time to respond and did its part by winning the ensuing faceoff, but sophomore Brennen Morin (Wilbraham, Mass.) forced the game's biggest turnover and picked up the ground ball to give possession back to the visitors and just over two minutes to work with.
After calling a timeout with 1:46 left, Merrimack just missed on consecutive shots that missed the cage. But finally, with 12 seconds to go, Schwarz snuck in one of the biggest goals of his career to put the Warriors ahead for good, giving the Navy and Gold an incredibly important regional victory while handing the Pioneers their first home loss this season.
Inside The Numbers
- Schwarz highlighted a quartet of multi-goal scorers for the Warriors; his four-point (3g, 1a) afternoon led the way, while Shand (2g), Guilbert (2g, 1a), and Allen (2g, 1a) finished with two goals, as well
- Sophomore Dom Madonna (Liverpool, N.Y.) improved to 8-0 after an 11-save performance, while LIU's Adam Winne turned away six shots
- Morin totaled two of the team's four caused turnovers, while junior Scott Corcoran (Haverhill, Mass.) and senior Andy Basler (Chelmsford, Mass.) also forced an LIU miscue
- Loprete was absolutely phenomenal on the X, winning eight of the team's last 10 faceoffs while finishing 9-for-13 (69.2%)
- Merrimack was 12-of-14 on clears and kept the LIU man-up offense off the board on three tries
Up Next
Merrimack returns to conference play on Tuesday (April 7) when it heads up to Manchester to square off against Saint Anselm College. The game will be played at Gill Stadium due to field conditions at Saint Anselm, and the game will begin at 5 p.m.
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