Frantic Late Men's Lacrosse Rally Comes Up Just Short in Loss to #14 Lakers

FROSTBURG, Md. – The Frostburg State Men's Lacrosse team dropped their home contest to No. 14 Mercyhurst 15-14 on Saturday afternoon.
 
After being awarded the opening faceoff, graduate Chase Buckwalter began the scoring just 30 seconds in, ripping a shot into the bottom left corner for a 1-0 Bobcat lead. The advantage didn't last long, as a minute and a half later, MU answered with two goals less than 30 seconds apart, going up 2-1. A pair of FSU shots were saved and blocked, allowing the Laker offense to hum, again going for two goals a minute apart for a 4-1 lead and forcing a Frostburg timeout.
Graduate Owen McCallum pulled a goal back, but that would be the final scoring action of the quarter, with both defenses locking down with the visitors up 4-2 after one.
 
The Bobcats couldn't get their offense going in the second, as they weren't able to find the net with any of their three shots in the first three minutes, meanwhile MU scored with three of their four attempts to move ahead 7-2. After junior Gregg Dort, Jr. won the resulting faceoff, junior Seamus Kearney helped right the ship with a solo goal to get within four. Junior Nate Jones made a save in goal, then graduate Evan Dere got FSU the ball back with a caused turnover, from which graduate Bubba Love found the net for a 7-4 game.
 
Another pair of Laker turnovers gave way to a solo goal by McCallum, with Jones then keeping Mercyhurst out on another save. Freshman Henry Sykes got in on the action, scoring into the bottom right corner with the shot clock running down to pull within one. A shot clock violation by the Lakers gave Frostburg the ball back, where McCollum found senior Austin Sipes in front of goal, coming all the way back to tie things at 7-7. Having gone 12 minutes without scoring, MU called a timeout late in the half, coming away with a score that put them ahead 8-7 headed to the locker room, but a last-second penalty would give Frostburg a man-up opportunity at the start of the third.
 
On the extra-man offense, some great ball movement led Sykes to feed Sipes, evening the game at 8-8. The Lakers hit back with a goal a minute and a half later, which sparked a period of back-and-forth scoring throughout the entire period. After seven and a half minutes of each side being denied a goal, Hulse picked up a score, with MU answering just over a minute later. Jones made another save, followed by another Buckwalter laser with a minute on the clock for a 10-10 tie. Mercyhurst won the faceoff, using the chance to score with 25 seconds left to hold an 11-10 lead going to the fourth.
 
Less than a minute into the final frame, the Lakers doubled their lead, though McCollum found Buckwalter again to stay within 12-11. The next eight minutes belonged to MU, as several Bobcat turnovers ended up leading to three-straight goals, putting FSU down 15-11 in the final three minutes. Hoping to give Frostburg some life, Dort took the resulting face-off to the goal himself, then was hit hard after the score, with Mercyhurst being given a one-minute non-releasable penalty. With the bench and crowd now energized, Sykes fed McCallum for a score, then Buckwalter called his own number seven seconds later, suddenly pulling within 15-14 with 1:43 on the clock. The Lakers won the faceoff and tried to run out the clock, but a body check from Jones got the Bobcats the ball back with a chance to tie. Buckwalter and Love each had attempts in the last 30 seconds, but neither could get the goal required for overtime, as MU held on to their one-goal win.
 
Buckwalter recorded a team-high four goals on the day, while McCallum had three goals and two assists, Sipes scored a pair, and Sykes had a goal and two assists on offense. Junior Landon Bruce led the defensive effort with four caused turnovers, while Dort and junior Alex Walstrum combined to win 19 of 31 faceoffs.
 
With the loss, Frostburg falls to 1-1 on the year, while Mercyhurst improves to 2-2. The Bobcats conclude their season-opening homestand on Tuesday, March 5 for a 3 p.m. game against Walsh. Information and updates will be posted to frostburgsports.com.