BALTIMORE – Loyola University Maryland men's lacrosse outscored visiting Bucknell University, 9-2, in the last 29 minutes of regulation on Saturday, and the Greyhounds came back to beat the Bison, 15-13, at Ridley Athletic Complex.
The comeback gave Head Coach
Charley Toomey the 182
nd win of his Loyola career, breaking the program record of 181 set from 1983-2001 by his own collegiate coach, Dave Cottle.
It did not come easily, or even look like it might happen, when Bucknell went on a 9-0 run that spanned the first and second quarters to lead 10-5 with 25.2 seconds left in the frame after Michael Meyer scored his fourth goal of the run.
Adam Poitras, however, broke the scoring streak with a goal at the halftime buzzer to send the teams to the locker room with the Bison up, 10-6. Poitras picked up a ground ball after missing a shot, and the Greyhounds sent it all the way around the offensive zone in seconds.
Joey Kamish threw to
Dylan Binney at right point, and he found Poitras on top of the crease where he released the ball before the buzzer to score his first of the day.
Bucknell did not let that momentum linger early in the second half, as the Bison scored 37 seconds into the third quarter as Peter Grandolfo got free in the left alley for a goal.
Evan James came back to score his third of the day at 9:18 in the third, sparking what would slowly build into a Loyola run.
Over the next eight-plus minutes, Loyola goalie
Max Watkinson made two saves,
Joe Houlihan had a caused turnover and the Greyhounds defense backed up a Bucknell shot that was blocked, holding the Bison off the board.
After Loyola cleared the ball following the blocked shot,
Matt Heuston had a shot that was saved, but
Matthew Minicus grabbed with a long rebound to keep possession for Loyola. Over 40 seconds later,
Davis Lindsey initiated below goal line on the left side of the cage and threw a pass to Heuston on the high, right side where he stepped into a shot that found the net.
Carson Hall won the ensuing faceoff going forward to himself, and after the Bucknell defense did not slide to him in the box, he shot and scored his first collegiate goal with 23.9 seconds to go in the quarter, less than six full seconds after Heuston's goal.
That tally pulled the Greyhounds within two, 11-9, heading into the fourth.
Lindsey continued to assert himself offensively after Loyola gained possession with under 13 minutes to play in regulation following a
Josh Fairey caused turnover. Lindsey drew a short stick behind the goal and beat him topside to score at 12:03, making it a one-goal game.
Meyer would score his game-high fifth of the day with a goal at 8:38, stopping the Loyola run at 4-0 and pushing the advantage back to two, 12-10.
Loyola went on extra man after
Seth Higgins dodged on the left and drew a full-time unnecessary roughness call against the Bison.
Minicus buried a 15-yard sidearm shot with a
Luke Murphy assist at 7:01 to covert for the Greyhounds on the extra-man. Hall flipped the man-up faceoff to Poitras on the wing, and Loyola scored again 34 ticks of the clock later when
Joey Kamish restarted off the end line against a short stick and got to the left for a goal at 6:27 that tied the score for the first time since it was 5-5 with 12:02 to go in the second quarter.
The Greyhounds took just 30 seconds to score their next goal despite Bucknell winning the faceoff after Kamish's score. The Bison took the ball back into their defensive end, but James stripped a Bucknell short stick near the midline, and
Mustang Sally came up with the ground ball.
Loyola worked the ball quickly to Poitras on the wide right side, and he swept left, using a Sally pick to get free and score at 5:57 for a 13-12 Loyola lead.
Hall popped the ensuing faceoff forward to win another possession for the Greyhounds, but Loyola did not settle its offense for long. After subbing to six-on-six offense, Lindsey took the ball from near midfield back to X where he passed to Poitras on the left side of the crease for a one-timer goal. That was Loyola's fourth goal in the span of one-minute, 36 seconds, taking them from down 12-10 to up 14-12 with 5:25 left in regulation.
The Greyhounds were flagged for a slashing penalty on Bucknell's next possession, but Loyola forced a Bison shot-clock violation to kill the extra-man opportunity and get the teams back to even strength.
Loyola took a full 80-second shot clock down before a turnover gave the ball back to the Bison, but Bucknell struck quickly. Ethan Gyllenhaal cleared and converted a shot for a transition goal with 98 seconds left in regulation, making it a one-goal game in the Greyhounds' favor.
Hall won the faceoff for Loyola, and after a Greyhounds' timeout, James scored his fourth of the game, beating his defender off the left side to put Loyola back up a pair with 29.6 seconds left.
Bucknell had one more offensive opportunity, but Watkinson went low to make a save with 18 ticks on the clock, preserving the two-goal win.
James finished with four goals to lead Loyola, while Poitras and Minicus each had three. Kamish and Lindsey each posted three points with a goal and two assists.
Watkinson, who was making the first start of his career, made eight saves, five that came in the second half.
Hall won six second-half faceoffs, including four during the fourth quarter. He had a team-best six ground balls, a new career-high.
Josh Fairey had a career-high three caused turnovers on defense, while Houlihan and James both finished with two each.
Loyola will play its next two Patriot League games on the road, starting with a Saturday, April 13, contest at College of the Holy Cross in Worcester, Massachusetts.
