Jacksonville Gets Humble Pie from VMI
from press release
LEXINGTON, Va. - Eight different players notched goals, Kelly McMinn had 16 saves and VMI lacrosse survived a second-half rally by the upstart Jacksonville Dolphins to hold on for a thrilling 10-9 win Saturday, in a non-conference contest played at VMI's turf field.
Trailing 7-3 at halftime, JU came out with a strong third
quarter. The Dolphins fired 16 shots at McMinn, en route to
outscoring VMI 4-2 in the period and cutting the margin to 9-7 with
15 minutes to play. A T.J. Kenary goal with 13:07 to play reduced
the VMI lead to one, but the Keydets' Colin Bosse notched the
eventual game-winner on an extra-man opportunity with 3:07 left. JU
would add a goal with 25 seconds remaining, but VMI's Stephen
Robarge won the ensuing faceoff to help time run out and send VMI
to its first win of 2010.
VMI (1-2) saw just two players, Tim Moran and Brett Leonard, score
multiple goals in the victory. The seniors scored two goals apiece,
and six other Keydets had single tallies, including Bernie
Mowbray's first career goal. In addition, McMinn's 16 saves tie him
for the fourth-most in VMI history in a single game. Jacksonville
(1-3) was paced by Cameron Mann, who had four goals in the
defeat.
The Keydets came out with a rush early on, as they opened the game
on a four-goal run. Moran, Drew Leonard and Andrew Nieminski all
scored in the game's first six minutes, and each tally was
unassisted. Brett Leonard got in on the action halfway through the
first period, as he beat JU keeper Brad Hester for his second goal
of the season, and VMI held a 4-0 lead with 7:29 left in the first
quarter. The Dolphins got on the board four minutes later, when
Mann scored off a pass from Ryan Serville to cut the margin to 4-1,
where it remained after one period.
Brett Leonard got the Keydets back on the board 1:43 into the
second quarter, and the teams would alternate scores for the
remainder of the period. JU cut its deficit to 5-2 with a man-up
goal from Alex Everett at 11:40, but Jacob Weimer responded four
minutes later, as he beat Hester off a pass from Brett Leonard.
With VMI holding a 6-2 advantage, the teams slowed the pace for
the next six minutes. The Dolphins were the team that found the
scoreboard next, as Nick Scalzo beat McMinn with 1:07 left in the
half, pulling the visitors within three. That margin lasted only a
moment, however, as the Keydets scored off the ensuing faceoff.
Weimer found Bernie Mowbray to the keeper's left, and the freshman
beat Hester for his first career goal, putting VMI up 7-3 at the
intermission.
During the first half of play, JU had outshot the home team 16-11,
with McMinn stopping seven of those attempts for VMI. The Dolphins
had also outgained the Keydets in ground balls, 16-13, and had the
game's only extra man goal in the first 30 minutes despite seven
first half penalties between the two teams.
Mann started the Dolphins' comeback attempt with 9:40 left in the
third period, as he beat McMinn cleanly to make the score 7-4.
Bobby Davis responded for VMI, notching his third goal of the young
season less than a minute later, and the Keydets were back up by
four, 8-4.
Unfortunately for the home team, Davis was flagged for a penalty
immediately after his goal, and JU took advantage with another Mann
goal. With 8:08 to go in the third quarter, VMI's cushion sat at
8-5, and it remained there for nearly four minutes.
At the 4:30 mark, Moran got VMI back on the scoreboard, beating
Hester with a shot from outside to push the edge back to 9-5. The
goal, a man-up tally, came off a pass from Davis and was Moran's
69th career score. That moved him into 12th place on the all-time
goals scored list at VMI. The momentum was short-lived, as the
visitors struck for two goals in the final 1:50 of the quarter, and
the VMI edge was 9-7 at the start of the final period.
The final 15 minutes saw just three goals scored, but the teams
were flagged for a combined seven penalties. The first pair of
those flags was simultaneous, as Moran and Kyle Hofstetter each
drew time in the box at the 13:24 mark. That led to Kenary's goal,
as JU drew within one with over 13 minutes to go.
Despite the visitors drawing two penalties, one at 8:22 and the
other at 7:40, the Keydets could not find the insurance goal. That
marker finally came after a slashing penalty with 3:30 remaining,
as Bosse tallied his second marker of the year, putting VMI up
10-8.
The Keydets were called for another infraction with 2:43 to play,
and JU peppered McMinn with shots during the extra-man chance. The
VMI keeper made a trio of critical saves during the penalty kill,
and the Dolphins could not score despite attempting five shots
during the minute-long extra man opportunity.
The visitors did take advantage of a penalty in the final minute,
as Mann capped the scoring with 25 seconds to go, accounting for
the final margin, 10-9. JU got the ball back with 10 seconds
remaining, but could not move possession into its offensive zone,
allowing time to run out.
On the day, the Dolphins outshot VMI 46-26, including 30-15 in the
second half. The visitors were able to capture nine face-off wins
versus Robarge, who came in with a 77.5% success rate, but the
Keydets won each of the four battles at the face-off X in the final
period. Finally, VMI won despite being flagged for 11 penalties and
serving over 10 minutes in the box, while Jacksonville was flagged
seven times for six minutes. The Keydets were 20 for 22 in clear
attempts, while JU finished 18 for 22 in that statistic.
VMI lacrosse will return to action Tuesday, as the Keydets travel
to Clinton, S.C. to take on the Presbyterian College Blue Hose.
Game time is set for 1 p.m.
