Senior Vinny Smiroldo scored the game-winning goal on an assist from Shane McKenzie to left the University of Mary Washington men's lacrosse team past Southern Virginia University, 17-16, in triple overtime on Wednesday afternoon. The Eagles improve to 7-7 overall, and 1-2 in the conference. The Eagles were led by senior Cole Hogan with five goals.
The Eagles were the first ones on the board, as Hogan scored in the first minutes of the game. Seconds later, Hogan added another goal, this time assisted by freshman Logan Green. With 9:07 left in the first quarter, senior Sean Tuite added to the Eagles' lead on an assisted goal by McKenzie. After ten minutes of solid defense from the Eagles, the Knights finally got through as they scored two straight goals. Chris White broke the silence for the Eagles on a goal that was assisted Chase Kapuscienski and the score stood at 4-2 at the end of the quarter.
Senior Robert Tata started the second quarter for Mary Washington, scoring a goal in a transition opportunity. A minute after, the Knights scored their first goal of the quarter, setting the score at 5-3. With 7:53 left in the half, Southern Virginia closed the gap to only one goa and then scored two straights to take a 6-5 lead with five minutes to play. The Eagles were quick to respond, tying the game back up with a goal by Tuite, assisted by Tata. Southern Virginia continued to attack on offense, reclaiming the lead on the next possession. Hogan answered with his third goal of the game, tying the game once more at 7-7. With 35 seconds remaining in the half, the Knights stole the lead and ended the half on top 8-7.
McKenzie scored first for the Eagles in the first few minutes of the second half, tying up the game 8-8. The Knights then scored four straight goals to take a 12-8 advantage with 7:39 to play. Green broke the silence for the Eagles with his first goal of the game, assisted by Tuite. McKenzie followed up on Green's goal with a goal of his own, assisted by Hogan with 4:23 left in the quarter. Seconds later, Hogan scored his fourth goal of the game and then Hogan tied the game up 12 a piece on an assist from Dyson Adams with 3:10 left in the quarter. The Knights scored the last goal of the quarter to take a 13-13 lead into the fourth.
In the opening seconds of the final quarter, McKenzie tied the game up on a goal that was assisted by Adams. Adams then scored his first goal of the game, allowing the Eagles to reclaim the lead at 14-13. The Knights then scored two straight goals to reclaim the lead at 15-14 with 8:35 to play on a man-up opportunity. Senior Kieran Burns tied the game up at 15 a-piece with 7:40 left in the game. With 4:35 left, Southern Virginia scored a goal that put them in the lead and then with just ten seconds left on the game clock, White tied the game up on a goal that was assisted by McKenzie in order to send the game to overtime.
Both teams spent the first two overtimes trying to put their team on top but to no avail, as both goalies made great saves. A minute into the third overtime period, Smiroldo scored the game winning goal assisted by McKenzie, as the Eagles top the Knights 17-16.
Billy Senicola made 16 impressive saves on the day for the Eagles. Eli Ayer won 25 out of the 34 faceoffs he was involved in and picked up 13 ground balls. Mike Colgan recorded four ground balls and caused three turnovers. Robert Tata picked up nine ground balls.
The Eagles will be back in action on Saturday as they will host St. Mary's for a game at 1 p.m.