Box Score
Williamsport, PA – Lycoming College's reigning MAC Player of the Year Stephen Romano scored 1:38 into the extra period to cap a late three-goal run and a 13-12 win against the visiting Messiah College Falcons.
The Falcons (7-7, 2-3 CC), leading for much of the game, were held scoreless over the final 12:23 of regulation as the Warriors (6-7, 3-2 CC) went on to score two goals in that span to knot the game at 12 apiece and in need of extra time.
Senior
Josh Buswell was whistled for an unnecessary roughness penalty just 1:00 into the extra period, which put the visitors down a man for the remainder of the contest. Sean Reilly threaded a pass to Romano on the crease, which he buried into the back of the net.
With the goal, Romano pushed his game total to seven, which was a game-high. The Falcons were led in scoring by sophomore
Brian Meenan's two goals and three assists. Juniors
Zac Smith,
Kevan Schellenberg, and
Heath Kupecky all netted two goals each.
Despite being down a goal just 1:49 into the contest, the Falcon offense looked comfortable early as the first four shots on the Warrior net found twine and the Falcons jumped out to an early 4-1 lead.
The Warriors would respond with two goals of their own off the stick of Matt McCaffer to end the first period at 4-3.
Lycoming would use a goal from Romano to even the score just 55 seconds into the second period, but the Falcons would respond in a big way.
Sophomore
Nate Nester drew two defenders on a dodge and dumped the ball off to a waiting
Ryan Mayer who beat the Warrior keeper with 8:12 remaining in the first.
Kevan Schellenberg finished a shot on a feed from Meenan at the 6:40 mark and Nester found the back of the net just 35 seconds later to put the visitors up 7-4.
An unassisted goal from the Warriors' Ben Walker concluded the first half scoring, sending the game into the break with a score of 7-5 in the Falcons' favor.
Lycoming's Romano beat the Falcon keeper again for his third on the day to open a quarter that featured nine total goals.
Heath Kupecky netted his second of the day to answer the Warrior goal less than two minutes later.
Lycoming took advantage of a Messiah penalty, netting their seventh goal of the contest to pull within one. A minute later the hosts tied the contest, foreshadowing the excitement of the games waning moments yet to come.
The final 22 minutes of the game featured three lead changes and nine goals.
Junior
Zac Smith scored on a well-placed shot off a dodge down the left ally, but Romano would answer Smith's goal with two of his own for the hosts' first lead since 10:27 left in the first quarter.
The Falcons would not give up so easy.
A three goal run to end the third and start the fourth put the Falcons up two, heading into the game's final 12 minutes. Goals during the stretch came from Schellenberg, Kupecky and senior
James Baden.
A goal with 10:17 remaining in the final stanza pulled the Warriors within one. Opportunities for both squads came up short over the next six minutes, building the excitement for the game's final moments.
The Warrior equalizer came with 4:18 remaining in regulation from the stick of Tom Lurie after he scooped up a loose ball in front of the Falcon net.
The Falcons got two good looks at the Warrior net from the stick of Meenan, but both hit the Warrior goalie in the legs. After a successful clear, Lycoming's Romano got a shot off toward the Falcon net with three seconds remaining but missed high. A last ditch effort from the Warriors ended in a loose ball and the end of regulation.
The Falcons failed to gain possession off the opening face of the extra stanza that also resulted in the Falcon one-minute penalty. Sean Reilly found a streaking Romano for the final goal just above the Falcon crease.
The Falcons dropped their conference record to 2-3 with the loss and face a must-win situation at Albright College on Saturday April 28. With a win and an E-town loss to Widener the Falcons would clinch the #4 seed for the first Commonwealth Conference playoffs (following the MAC-Commonwealth restructuring in the off-season). The Falcons also still have a chance to move up as high as the #3 seed depending on the outcomes of other games.
Opening face is slated for 1:00 p.m.
