BRIDGEWATER, Va. – The Bridgewater College men's lacrosse team battled back for a thrilling 9-8 overtime victory on a balmy Saturday afternoon at the Jopson Athletic Complex on Saturday afternoon.
 
THE BASICS
Final Score: Bridgewater 9, Susquehanna 8
Records: Bridgewater 1-0; Susquehanna 0-1
 
HOW IT HAPPENED:

• The River Hawks wasted no time in getting on the board as Nick Remund notched the first goal of the season for SU at the 13:14 mark of the first quarter to give the visitors a 1-0 lead. Less than two minutes. Tyler Pinto tied the game for the Eagles with a strike at the 11:57 mark of the period. The game remained knotted at 1-1 for over 10 minutes as Jack Gailard scored his first of the year to push the River Hawks ahead, 2-1, after the end of the opening 15 minutes.
• Susquehanna added to its lead in the early minutes of the second quarter as Pat McDermott got a feed from Gailard to make it 3-1 with 12:17 left in the half. Riley Stewart made it a one-goal game with a rocket to make the game 3-2 with 4:11 left in the half. The River Hawks got two quick goals in the final two minutes as Jimmy Maro and Brennan Lorence each had a goal as SU took a 5-2 lead into the break.
• A penalty called right at the end of the half gave Bridgewater possession in an extra-man situation as Pinto scored his second of the game to cut the lead to two with 14:48 on the clock in the third quarter. Drew Huber drew the Eagles closer as he found a pass from Stewart to make it a 5-4 game with 11 and a half minutes showing on the clock. Gailard was able to get free for a shot that beat the BC goalie to give the visitors another two-goal advantage, but Colby Smith kept the Eagles in it with a strike after getting a pass from Trevor McClelland to keep BC within one. McClelland got his name on the goal scorer's list as he took a pass from Huber and put it past the Suquehanna goalie to tie the game at 6-6 heading into the fourth quarter.
• The River Hawks jumped ahead again thanks to back-to-back goals from Rob McCullough an Lorence, who scored a man-up goal, to take an 8-6 edge with just four minutes on the clock. Stewart and Huber connected again to make it a one goal game as the Eagles trailed just 8-7 with 3:20 showing on the clock. After regaining possession, Bridgewater called a timeout and out of the stoppage, Huber got free and found the back of the cage to tie the game with under 50 seconds left in regulation. The River Hawks had one final scoring chance in regulation as Lorence rocketed a shot that was saved by Gabe Wallman to keep the game tied at eight with 10 seconds left. The scoreline held, and the contest headed for overtime.
• Gabe Alexander won the faceoff to start the four-minute overtime period. Just 46 seconds into the extra period, McClelland recorded the game-winning goal as the team took the field in celebration.

 
GAME NOTES:

• Huber, McClelland, Stewart and Pinto all recorded two goals with McClelland getting the game winner. Colby Smith also added a goal in the win.
• Huber led the team with three assists to finish with a five-point game, while McClelland and Stewart had helpers, as well.
• For the River Hawks, Gailard and Lorence each had two scores, while McCullough, McDermott, Maro and Remund all had one. Gailard, McDermott and Jones all had one assist in the loss.
• Wallman played all 61 minutes in his first collegiate game and made an incredible 18 saves with nine saves coming in each half. On the other side, Jozef Korpics stopped nine shots, but allowed nine goals.
• Jacob Mead led defensive efforts with three caused turnovers, while Brennan McKeown had two of his own. McKeown grabbed six ground balls, while Mead had four.
• At the faceoff X, Alexander went 11-for17 with 10 ground balls and Killian Krapfl won each of his faceoff attempts.
• Bridgewater held a 29-27 edge in ground balls, while BC was true on 20 of 24 clear attempts compared to Susquehanna's 18 clears on 22 attempts.

 
UP NEXT
Bridgewater returns to action on Saturday, February 24, as it hosts Mary Washington at 1 pm.