Jacksonville Stuns Denver in Triple Overtime
from press release
JACKSONVILLE, Fla. -- For the second straight
week, a 10-4 lead was not safe. This time, the Jacksonville
men’s lacrosse team ended up on the winning side, shocking
No. 18 Denver in a 13-12 barnburner for the first win in program
history.
The Dolphins (1-2) dominated faceoffs all game with freshman
midfielder Mike Wallenhorst going 20-for-28, while the home side
assisted eight of its 13 goals in front of 728 fans on a beautiful
day at the Ashley Sports Complex.
JU was led by yet another impressive performance by freshman
attackman Ryan Serville, who entered the game leading the country
in goals and points. Serville netted three goals and three assists
while four Dolphins also tallied two goals each.
The Pioneers (0-2), who lost at No. 1 Syracuse on Friday in new
coach Bill Tierney's debut, were able to jump out to an early lead
with the help of four goals in the first half from Cameron
Flint.
“This is just unbelievable,” said JU head coach Matt
Kerwick. “I told the guys coming in that if we play like we
practice we’re going to be in this game. I’m so proud
of their effort today after going down six goals to a really
strong, really well coached team. They kept their heads up, fought
hard and never gave up.”
The Dolphins found themselves down early in the game, conceding
two goals in the first five minutes to a Denver team that had
travelled down from Syracuse the day before.
JU would answer back, however, in the 6th minute when freshman TJ
Kenary took a nice ball from freshman Donovan Lange to draw the
Dolphins within one.
The first quarter would end with the Dolphins trailing 4-2 after
Serville scored on an unassisted man-up play with 1:24
remaining.
The Pioneers took further control in the second quarter after
outscoring the Dolphins 4-2 again, including a three goal run
spanning from inside the last six minutes to the final 50
seconds.
The Dolphins looked to take momentum into the half on a man-up
goal after an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty on the Pioneers.
Freshman Nick Scalzo blasted a ball home off an assist from
Serville to give the Dolphins hope, down 8-4 at the half.
Denver would crush the idea of early momentum for the first-year
team with two goals inside the first four minutes.
John Dickenson assisted two straight goals to Andrew Lay and Mark
Matthews but JU would find the run it was looking for. Down 10-4,
the Dolphins scored six straight goals to even the score at 10-10
starting with a strong goal from freshman Chip Young.
The Dolphins would then receive scores from freshman Donovan
Lange, sophomore midfielder Jeremy Tissenbaum, and two from
Serville before the barrage was capped off by an unassisted goal
from Tissenbaum.
For the last seven minutes of regulation, the Dolphins and
Pioneers traded goals until JU found itself up 12-11 with 2:23
left. With less than a minute remaining, Denver took the ball for
one final possession. A hopeful shot heading towards goal was
blocked with 18 seconds remaining but Todd Baxter was there to pick
up the ground ball and complete the easy finish with 15 seconds to
go.
Heading into overtime, The Dolphins rallied around each other,
clawing for the game winner.
The first two overtime periods saw long possessions for each side
with several shots on goal but neither team could put away the
clincher.
The third overtime produced more of the same until the final
minute.
The Dolphins gained possession and pushed for a winner when
Tissenbaum fired a shot from five yards out with 34 seconds
remaining but the ball was saved. Freshman midfielder Cameron Mann
was in the right place at the right time, however, to scoop up the
ground ball and complete a quick pass to freshman attackman Nick
Scalzo who pushed the ball past goalie Butex Zander for the
program’s first win.
The Dolphin bench cleared and dog piled near midfield as the
celebrations began.
Senior Brad Hester produced another strong performance between the
pipes, saving 10 shots from 22 on goal. JU and Denver combined for
a staggering 95 shots, with 52 on goal.
Head coach Matt Kerwick picked up the 98th win of his career and
first with Jacksonville.
For fans that missed the historic day at the Ashley Sports
Complex, the game will be made available for viewing on ASun.TV
this week.
The victorious Dolphins will head north for their first road game
of the year when they face VMI next Saturday at 1 p.m.
