The men's lacrosse team went on the road to defeat Clarkson University 8-7 on Saturday, scoring the winning goal with just seven seconds remaining in overtime.
"Our focus for the game was playing hard, getting back to the way we play," said head coach Jim Lyons. "Winning the game was a huge boost and knowing our hard work paid off was icing on the cake."
Clarkson took an early 2-0 lead in the first quarter despite Geneseo's creation of a 6-3 shot advantage in the frame. Seniors Craig Lange and Bobby King scored goals early in the second quarter to tie the game at two. Clarkson wrought out two more goals to take a 4-2 lead, but Geneseo tied it back up at four heading into halftime as sophomore Tim Burgess and senior Ray Ryan each tallied a goal.
Geneseo got back in the game in the second quarter by winning six of seven faceoffs, and freshman goalie Ryan Zaremba made six of his 14 saves during the second quarter.
"Ryan's learning how to be a better goalie and a better leader," Lyons said. "Our defense in general had a breakout game, and Ryan was a big part of that."
Clarkson resumed the lead in the third quarter, outscoring Geneseo 3-1 in the period. Burgess scored Geneseo's lone goal of the quarter and his second of the game on an assist from King.
Down 7-5 entering the fourth quarter, Geneseo took control and tied the game at seven with two rapid-fire goals, outshooting Clarkson 11-5 in the frame. Lange tallied his second goal of the game on King's second assist, and sophomore Chris Topping tied the game on his first goal of the year just 11 seconds later.
Lange, who leads Geneseo's roster with 19 points and 10 assists, did not pick up a single assist in the game and faced heavy defense from the Clarkson players throughout.
"They slid a little differently to Craig and I give all the credit to Bobby King for noticing it," Lyons added. "Craig got the ball to Bobby and he made the pass Craig usually makes. It was very unselfish from Craig."
With just seven seconds left in overtime, junior Brendan Kurpis took a pass from Zaremba and scored to win the game for Geneseo, whose offense was spread out – six players scored the eight goals.
"We need to score enough goals to win and finishing has been an issue for us," Lyons said. "Saturday we adhered to a scheme, we stuck to a plan and I'm pleased with our offensive output."
Geneseo won the game despite not getting a single man-up opportunity. Lyons said he was not concerned and that he believed Geneseo will get man-up opportunities in the future.
The Knights improve to 3-3 on the season. Geneseo travels to Rochester Institute of Technology on Saturday to take on the No. 5-ranked, undefeated Tigers for their last non-conference game of the season.