Box Score Virginia Beach, Va. – Junior midfielder Kyle Watts (Ellicott City, Md./Mt. Hebron) gave the Susquehanna University men's lacrosse team a second shot at the win as Watts' goal with 17 seconds left in regulation forced the game into overtime Wednesday evening. However, Susquehanna (3-4) came up short in a 13-12 non-conference loss to Virginia Wesleyan University (5-1) in its first game down in Virginia.
 
Susquehanna 12, Virginia Wesleyan 13
 
How It Happened

• Susquehanna found itself down 12-9 with 4:40 remaining in the game but the River Hawks scored three goals in the final 2:18 to send the contest into extra time as sophomore attackman Colton Dick (Owings, Md./Northern) had a hand in two of the goals.
• Senior midfielder Jack Gerrity (Scotch Plains-Fanwood, N.J./Scotch Plains-Fanwood) cut the lead to two as Gerrity finished off a feed from Dick at 2:18 following a forced turnover by the SU defense.
• Freshman attackman Jack McLaughlin (Chatham, N.J./Chatham) then claimed his second goal of the night 31 seconds later to pull the River Hawks within one as junior attackman Preston Ouellette (Trumbull, Conn./St. Joseph) assisted on the play. The goal resulted from another Virginia Wesleyan turnover.
• A failed Marlin clear in the final 25 seconds of regulation led to Susquehanna's game-tying goal by Watts off an assist from Dick. After VWU's 27th miscue of the game, the River Hawks called a timeout, came up with a play, and the SU offense executed it beautifully.
• The River Hawks won the ensuing face-off but turned the ball over and the game went into an extra frame.
• Virginia Wesleyan responded quickly in overtime as Dante Castillo, who finished 1-of-2 at face-off X, picked up the ground ball and took it in for the game-winning goal just 15 seconds into the sudden victory four-minute extra period.
• VWU jumped out to a 2-0 lead in the first quarter before seniors Jake Smolokoff (Oceanport, N.J./Red Bank Regional) and Jack Donnelly (Webster, N.Y./Webster Schroeder) evened up the game.
• The Marlins rebuilt another two-goal lead before Susquehanna got one back with a McLaughlin goal. VWU headed into halftime with a 5-3 advantage following a goal from Trevor Lalande with 38 seconds on the clock.
• It was a high-scoring third quarter as nine goals were tallied in 15 minutes with the River Hawks staking a 5-4 edge; however, Virginia Wesleyan took a 9-8 edge into the fourth quarter. Five different SU players found the back of the net while senior captain Travis Yaga (Fairfax Station, Va./Lake Braddock) picked up his third career assist.
• The hosts stretched their lead to three with two goals in the first five minutes of the final period. Susquehanna would then score four of the next five goals to force OT.

 
Inside the Box Score

• Shots were equal at 50 apiece while the River Hawks gained a 41-39 edge in ground balls and successfully made 33 of 35 clears.
• Susquehanna also converted on two of three extra-man opportunities while the River Hawks' solid defense play forced 16 of the Marlins' 27 turnovers.
• Virginia Wesleyan controlled the X, winning 17-of-29 face-offs as Nathan Sheirburn went 16-of-27 with a game-best 11 ground balls.

 
Top Performers

• Dick paced the River Hawks with five points on a goal and season-best four assists while Smolokoff contributed two goals and an assist.
• McLaughlin and Watts both finished with two goals each while Yaga chipped in two helpers plus career-bests of eight ground balls and four caused turnovers.
• Juniors Jacob Fox (Brookfield, Conn./Brookfield) and Patrick Donnelly (Webster, N.Y./Webster Schroeder) both had career days on defense for Susquehanna. Fox added career-bests of five loose ball pickups and four caused turnovers while Donnelly came up with a career-high four caused turnovers and four ground balls.
• Senior captain Dylan Abplanalp (Grasonville, Md./Kent Island) put up a season-high 19 saves to go along with five ground balls and one caused turnover.
• Joey Rayman paced the Marlins on offense with three goals while Greg Gaetano collected a goal and three assists. In goal, Kyle Leeming came up with 23 saves as VWU won its second straight.

 
Up Next for the River Hawks

• Mar. 14 at Mary Washington (4-4) – Fredericksburg, Va. – 4:00 p.m.

 
Facebook: susquehanna.riverhawks | Instagram: @gosusqu, @susquehannamlax
Twitter: @GOsusqU | Hashtags: #GOSU, #RiverHawkPride