SALEM STATE RALLIES PAST MEN’S LACROSSE IN OVERTIME, 7-6

BOSTON, Mass. – Junior attackman Frank Lento (Salem, Mass.) scored the game-winning goal with 41 seconds remaining in the first overtime period to lead Salem State University past the Emmanuel College men's lacrosse team, 7-6, Wednesday evening at Roberto Clemente Field. With the win, the Vikings improve to 6-2 on the year while the loss drops the Saints to 3-7 and is their fourth one-goal defeat.

Trailing 5-2 with just over 10 minutes remaining in regulation, Salem State began its comeback when freshman middie Nate Staples (Salem, Mass.) found the back of the net for the fourth time on the year with the help of a Lento assist to make it 5-3 with 9:35 left.

Behind back-to-back unassisted scores from junior attackman A.J. Robertson (Ipswich, Mass.) at the 5:29 and 5:06 markers, the Vikings tied the game at 5-5 to even the score for the first time since early in the opening quarter.

With 1:22 left in the action, the Saints netted the go-ahead score to take a 6-5 lead when freshman attackman Kaile MacLean-Daley found sophomore attackman Evan Dolber (Malden, Mass.) for his seventh goal of the year. Unfortunately for the hosts, Salem would win the ensuing faceoff and have a chance to even the score before the end of regulation. Following a timeout, the Vikings would again net the equalizer as Lento found sophomore middie Max Gansenberg (Beverly, Mass.) wide open in front of the Saints goal for the easy score with 43 tics remaining.

The Vikings had a chance to win it in regulation but Emmanuel sophomore goalie Austin Lauzier made a stop at point blank range with two seconds left to send the game into overtime.

Both squads had solid offensive possessions with chances to win the game before Lento did the trick with 41 seconds left in the overtime. The junior was behind the net and made a strong move past his defender in one-on-one coverage, beating him near post before dumping the ball through the wickets of Lauzier for the game-winner.

Emmanuel controlled the first half action, owning a 2-0 lead after the first period behind goals from freshman middie Justin Kelly (Collegeville, Pa.) and sophomore attackman Jake Jaskolski (St. Claire Shores, Mich.). They would increase the lead to 3-0 before halftime as junior attackman Brian O'Regan (Milton, Mass.) scored his third goal of the year on an unassisted tally with 3:22 remaining in the half.

The Vikings continued to fight, getting on the board with just 37 seconds remaining in the third quarter on a man-up goal. The Saints were whistled for too many men on the field and the penalty cost them as Robertson scored his first goal of the night to make it 3-1.

Another Robertson man-up goal made it 3-2 early on in the fourth quarter before MacLean-Daley scored his team-leading 18^th goal of the year to put EC back on top by two with 10:35 left. The rookie fired off a shot from the left of the goal that was saved by Salem State rookie goalie Dylan Svenson (Billerica, Mass.) but MacLean-Daley followed the shot, scooped up his own groundball before flicking it past Svenson to make it a 4-2 game.

Just 23 seconds later, Jaskolski deposited his second goal of the evening on a man-up scenario to make it 5-2 with 10:12 remaining to give Emmanuel the three goal cushion.

Robertson finished the evening with a game-high four goals for Salem while sophomore long-stick middie Ian Abrahamson (Billerica, Mass.) collected a team-high five groundballs.

Sophomore defender Cody Gallagher (West Islip, N.Y.) recorded a game-high eight groundballs in the losing effort for Emmanuel.

Svenson improves to 6-2 on the year, making seven saves for the win while Lauzier was stellar in defeat, posting 11 stops for Emmanuel.

The Saints return to action on Saturday when they host Emerson College at 3:00 PM in Great Northeast Athletic Conference action while Salem State host Plymouth State the same afternoon in Little East Conference action beginning at 12:30 PM.