Boxscore
By Matthew Piltch '12
WILLIAMSTOWN, MASS. - Williams men's
lacrosse found its stride on Saturday against Wesleyan behind an
exceptional performance from senior netminder Stephen Vrla, as the
team claimed a 6-5 overtime victory on a goal from sophomore
Michael Acierno with 7.7 seconds to play to break a three-game
losing streak. The team moved to 4-3 in the NESCAC and 5-6 on the
season, while Wesleyan dropped to 6-6 on the season and 2-5 in the
NESCAC with the loss.
“We've had a rough streak of games, and this was a
great way to end the losing streak,” said Vrla. “Last
week the seniors got together, and we were saying that it is our
last couple of weeks of lacrosse in our lives. We said that we were
going to leave it all on the field and not hold anything back, but
as coach says, words are cheap and actions are what count. Everyone
stepped up at some point today -- great all around team win.”
Vrla was absolutely central to the victory: he stopped 19 of the
Cardinals' 24 shots on goal. “It's one of those
things where some days you've got them and some days you
don't,” he said. “It's a great feeling on
the days you do.”
Williams got on the board first when Acierno caught the ball
behind the net and sliced through two Cardinal defenders on the
left side before ripping a shot into the top right corner of the
net 4:08 into the game. The Ephs then scored on a man-up
opportunity after Acierno was slashed in the helmet with 7:41 to
play in the period; with six seconds remaining on the penalty,
senior Brian Wrapp found sophomore Tim Goggins at the top of the
crease, and Goggins flung the ball past Wesleyan goalie Mark
Simmons to make the score 2-0. The quarter ended with the Ephs in
possession after another Cardinal penalty and still up 2-0.
The Ephs were unable to take advantage of the man-up
opportunity, and Wesleyan was finally able to find a way past Vrla
3:54 into the second. Vrla made an incredible kick save off a
Wesleyan shot, but Cardinal Conor Malangone was able to pick up the
rebound in the middle of the field and hit the back of the net
before Vrla recovered. Neither team was able to score for almost
ten minutes until Eph sophomore Sam Hargrove received the ball
behind the goal on the left with 2:21 to play. Hargrove then
wrapped around the crease, cutting by a Cardinal defender before
shoveling an underhand shot into the bottom right of the net to
make the score 3-1 with 2:19 to play in the half – a score
that held into the break following a string of turnovers by both
teams in the final minute.
Although the Ephs outshot the Cardinals 25-17 in the first 30
minutes, Vrla's play was the story of the half. The Cardinals
found the goal frame on 12 of their 17 shots – the majority
coming from point blank range – and Vrla stopped 11,
including a string of double saves. In contrast, Simmons could only
stop 3 of Williams' 6 shots on net.
The second half started well for Williams: the Ephs added to
their lead only six seconds in, as junior Corey Jacobs won the
opening faceoff before sprinting into the top right of the Cardinal
box, winding up and letting fly an overhand shot that found its way
into the bottom left of Simmons' net. Wesleyan responded with
10:18 to play in the period, when Malangone found Graham Gnall open
in the top left of Williams' defensive third, and Gnall was
able to find space in the bottom left of Vrla's net to make
the score 4-2. The Cardinals found the goal again a little more
than nine minutes later, when DJ Bernatavitz cut from behind the
crease on the right and found Malangone diving toward the Eph net
with 1:07 to play in the third; Malangone received the pass before
slinging the ball past a chanceless Vrla to make the score 4-3
heading into the fourth quarter.
The momentum seemed to be heading in the Cardinals' favor
as the final quarter began, as Jacobs won the faceoff for the Ephs,
but Williams turned the ball over and gave the Cardinals a fast
break opportunity. Malangone received the ball unchallenged at the
left of the Eph net and took the ball toward the crease – but
Vrla again came up huge, stopping the Cardinal attacker within
inches of the goal. Malangone fell into the crease after the save,
and Ephs went the other way. Following the change in possession,
Hargrove mirrored his first-half goal, this time curling around the
net from the right side and hurling the ball overhand past Simmons
to make the score 5-3 with 13:14 to play in the game. Wesleyan
wouldn't roll over, however, as Gnall managed to pull one
back for the Cardinals with 6:23 to play after cutting from the
back left of the Eph net. Bernatavitz then tied up the game 5-5
with 2:08 to go in the half, receiving the ball on the right of the
Williams goal and dodging through two Ephs before slinging the ball
into the bottom left of the Williams net. Jacobs won the following
faceoff, but the Eph illegally brought the ball out of their
offensive third with 1:11 to play to create a suspenseful final
minute of the fourth – but Vrla stopped the lone Cardinal
shot, and the teams went into overtime.
Wesleyan controlled the overtime, and the Ephs didn't have
a shot in the extra period until the final seconds of the game.
Reuter won a ground ball off a Cardinal shot with 35 seconds to
play; the Ephs successfully cleared the ball and passed it around
before finding Hargrove behind the goal with 15 seconds remaining.
Hargrove curled around the left of the Cardinal net looking for a
shot, but when no opportunity presented itself, he passed to
Acierno, who wound up and put the ball through Simmons'
five-hole for the game winner.
Wesleyan outshot Williams 47-29 on the game, but Simmons was
only able to get in front of 6 of the Ephs' 12 shots on goal.
Wesleyan also won the ground ball and turnover battles, 54-48 and
16-24, respectively, but their statistical control was not enough
to earn the Cardinals the victory.
“Winning was a huge sigh of relief for everybody,”
said George McCormack, head coach of the Ephs. “Every game
has been so close only that we are only a few goals from being
undefeated in the conference. As good as it feels to be
competitive, it breaks your heart a little. I am happy for the
guys.”
“I don't have enough superlatives to say about
Stephen [Verla's] play,” said the coach. “He
single-handedly kept us in the game.”
“We had a number of unforced turnovers that put us in a
tough spot,” he added. “I was happy with the way the
offense started; they started with a zone that we were able to get
into and get ahead. It was a typical NESCAC game right down to
end.”
McCormack also complimented the play of two of his midfielders.
“I was proud of Michael [Acierno], who had two big goals for
us to break a scoring slide,” he said. “I also thought
Corey [Jacobs], who we could only use for faceoffs because of
injury, did a great job.” Jacobs won 8 of his 14 faceoffs on
the day to go along with his goal.
“We now have to get ready to play two straight games on
the road,” he finished.
The team will now prepare to play SUNY-Plattsburgh at 5 p.m. on
the road on Tuesday before traveling to Bowdoin next Saturday. If
the Ephs win their final two NESCAC games, the team will likely
host at least one NESCAC playoff game.
