Huntingdon, PA -- The University of Pittsburgh at Bradford men's lacrosse team picked up their second win of the season on Saturday, defeating Spalding 10-9 in overtime.
The game got off to a slow start as neither team found the net for 9 minutes. Hunter Shank made a pair of early saves, while Ben Byers forced two saves and Julian Florez forced another. Pitt-Bradford broke the ice with 5:25 on the clock when Joshua Held picked up the ball behind the goal, rushed forward past a defender and bounced a shot under the goalie to give Pitt-Bradford the lead. The advantage did not last long, as Spalding took control of the game, keeping the ball for over two minutes before firing a shot past Shank in the Pitt-Bradford goal to tie the game at one.
In the second, the Golden Eagles scored with the man advantage after 5 minutes of play, but the Panthers responded with 3 straight goals. With just under 7 minutes remaining in the half, Logan Giles picked up a ground ball in the midfield and transitioned into attack. He found Billy Tigar open in front of the goal, who caught the pass, rushed past the last defender and fired into the goal. 25 seconds later, Ben Byers picked up a ground ball and went on a long solo attack. He sprinted past 3 Spalding defenders and squeezed a shot through traffic into the left side of the goal to put the Panthers in front. Byers added to the lead a few minutes later, receiving a pass from David De La Teja on the man advantage and ripping a shot into the top corner of the goal for his second of the game. Spalding would cut the lead in half with 90 seconds remaining, sending the game to the halftime break with Pitt-Bradford ahead 4-3.
Spalding came out of the halftime break firing and quickly grabbed all the momentum in the match. They scored twice within six minutes of the restart to go back in front. With 8 minutes remaining, Hunter Shank made a save on another shot, but went down injured after the stop. He was replaced in the Panther goal by Evan Stack, who made an early save after he entered the contest, but then was beaten twice in an 11-second span, which pushed the deficit to 3.
With 4:14 remaining in the third, Pitt-Bradford drew a penalty and switched the momentum with the resulting man advantage. They took 3 shots while a man up, but could not find the net. Finally with 3:19 to go, Jaden Freeland found midfielder Reid Kristufek wide open in front of the goal. Kristufek caught the pass and fired a shot past the goalie for his first of the game. A minute later, Florez caused a Spalding turnover in the defensive end and Alex Ortiz picked up the ground ball and moved into attack. The ball found its way to Byers who weaved between defenders and fired a shot that hit the post, but had enough spin to land in front of the goal and bounce over the line.
Trailing by one in the fourth quarter, the Golden Eagles looked to increase their lead, but the freshman goalie, Stack, made 6 saves to keep the deficit at one. With 6 minutes remaining, Jaden Freeland got a pass behind the net and squeezed a pass to Tigar alone on the back side. The attacker caught the pass and shot all in one motion to score his 2nd of the game and tie the score at 7. Spalding regained the lead with 3:30 to play but their advantage would only last one possession as Christian Beaslet won the faceoff and 67 seconds later Kristufek received a pass at the top of the zone, weaved his way through three defenders and slid a backhanded shot under the goalie to even the game at 8.
With 3:30 remaining in regulation, the action was not yet finished. Spalding went on the attack and moved into the offensive end. they missed the net with one shot and forced Stack into a save with a second. The Golden Eagles were able to control the rebound and fire a shot beyond an out of position Stack to take a 9-8 lead. De La Teja won the following faceoff and got the Panthers in the offensive end. After probing the defense for 45 seconds, Byers stepped up, got around the Spalding defense and found a yard of space for a shot. The Freshman attacker fired his effort past the goalie, tying the game to force overtime.
In the overtime, the Panthers got the ball first and forced a save early. Spalding forced a turnover and got their first chance in the sudden victory period. Stack came up with another huge save and successfully cleared the ball into the offensive end. After a Pitt-Bradford timeout, Held began the offensive possession with the ball behind the net, moved to the top of the circle and dropped a pass off to Jaden Freeland. Freeland turned and found Byers open on the left side of the goal mouth. Byers caught the pass, slowly moved to the center of the goal, searching for an opening to shoot. He found one with 1:30 on the clock, firing a leaping, overhand shot that beat the goalie high and to the left to win the game 10-9.
Ben Byers was the focal point of the Panther offense, as he scored 5 times, while registering 19 shots. Reid Kristufek and Billy Tigar scored twice a piece, while Joshua Held added the final goal. Jaden Freeland had a pair of assists and David De La Teja added another helper. Evan Stack earned his first career win as a goalie, making 13 saves over the final 25:32. Starter Hunter Shank made 8 in the Panther goal before having to come off the field due to an injury.
The win moves Pitt-Bradford to 2-3 overall. They will be right back in action tomorrow, when they take on the hosts of this weekend's tournament, Juniata. First whistle is scheduled for 5:00 p.m. ar Juniata's Gibbel Stadium.
