Late Comeback Falls Short for Men's Lacrosse in Season Finale

ELMIRA, NY - Four goals in the third quarter, three of which were on man-up opportunities would prove to be the downfall for the Soaring Eagles (2-11, 1-7 E8) as their late comeback in the fourth quarter would not be enough to sink the visiting Saxons of Alfred University (4-7, 2-6 E8) in the season finale for EC on Wednesday afternoon at Campus Field.

Second year midfielder Dan Frost ’10 (Bow, NH -- Bow) along with Ian Morgan-Janes ’10 (South Berwick, ME -- Marshwood) each netted a goal in the final quarter to bring the game to within one with about two minutes to play. Unfortunately, Alfred was able to collect the face-off following Frost’s goal keeping possession for the final 59 seconds of the contest.

The opening two quarters however saw a tie between EC and Alfred, as Elmira notched a single goal in the first and second, while Alfred earned a pair of goals in the second. Overall the game was equally balanced despite a flurry of penalties on both sides. EC eventually ended the day with a combined 12 penalties, while Alfred notched 8 of their own.

Sean Slater ’08 (Ashland, MA -- Ashland) who finished out his four year career this afternoon gave Elmira the initial 1-0 lead in the final minutes of the first on a man-up opportunity. Martin O’Brien ’11 (West Springfield, MA -- Winchendon School) assisted on the goal which was scored 11 seconds after an Alfred slashing penalty.

In the second, Alfred tallied their first two points of the afternoon on the scoreboard in back-to-back sequences, the first of which started with Marc Zoyhofski, followed by Ben Coburn.

O’Brien closed out the first half with his only goal of the day evening the score at 2-2, with about minute left to play in the second. His goal was EC’s second man-up goal of the day as the Soaring Eagles went 2-for-8 on the man-up opportunities.

Following the halftime break, the goals went back and forth between the two teams, starting with a man-up goal from Alfred, which EC answered right back with as fourth year player Mike Szpiech ’08 (Hamilton, ONT -- Albany Academy) capped off the day with his only goal. Alfred and Elmira would exchange another set of goals with in the first 5 minutes of third. However, in the closing minutes of the quarter, Alfred took their first two goal lead of the day on back-to-back scores.

With an early goal in the opening minutes of the fourth, EC found itself in a three goal hole very quickly. Morgan-Janes started the rally at 2:12 when he has able to fire the ball by Saxons goalie Adam Schutz who collected a total 18 saves on the day for Alfred. Frost then brought the game to within one on the games only man-down goal which he scored from about 10 yards out.

Even with the momentum shifting in favor of the Purple and Gold, Alfred sealed the victory winning the scramble in the center circle and maintaining possession for the final minute of play.

Scott Wunsch and Kevin Kostyk led their team in groundballs managing a total of 14 respectively. For EC, long stick midfielder Brandon Saylor ’10 (Cleveland Heights, OH -- Cleveland Heights) pulled in a game high 9 groundballs, while goalie Geoffrey Lane ’10 (Pennington, NJ -- Pennington) tallied four groundballs of his own, along with 19 saves.

Along with Slater and Szpeich today’s game also marked the final contest for Brandon Brennan ’08 (Manassas, VA -- Osbourn Park) and Justin Jenkins ’08 (Scituate, MA -- Scituate).

Alfred University 7, Elmira College 6
Box Score

Alfred University (4-7, 2-6 E8)   0   2   4   1   --   7
Elmira College (2-12, 1-7 E8)   1   1   2   2   --   6

Scoring: A-Marc Zoyhofski 2, Andy Haynes 1, Jeremy Florence 1, Justin Kieffer 1, Matt Leslie 1, Ben Coburn 1; E-Dan Frost 2, Martin O’Brien 1, Sean Slater 1, Mike Szpiech 1, Ian Morgan-Janes 1

Assists: A-Dave DeRaddo 1, Jeremy Florence 1, Andy Haynes 1; E-Dave Beriau 2, Martin O’Brien 2, Brandon Brennan 1, Sean Slater 1

Shots: A-56, E-37; Saves: A-Adam Schutz 18, E-Geoffrey Lane 19