LOUDONVILLE, NY – Junior Eric Berger (Ardsley, PA/Penn Charter) scored 45 seconds into the overtime period to give the Monmouth men's lacrosse team a 14-13 victory over Siena on Saturday afternoon.
The Hawks finished the regular season with a winning record (7-6) for the first time in program history, including a perfect 6-0 road record, clinched a berth in the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference Tournament for the second consecutive year. Monmouth will enter the postseason as the No. 3 seed and will play No. 2 Marist on Thursday, May 5 in Hamden, Conn.
“I'm proud of our guys and the effort today,” head coach Brian Fisher said. “It was a great atmosphere with a postseason berth on the line and I thought Siena played their hearts out.”
Monmouth overcame a 4-0 deficit in the first five minutes and trailed 5-2 after the opening quarter. The Hawks came back and outscored Siena 8-2 in the second quarter to take a 10-7 lead into halftime.
“It was an intense game and one of the gutsiest performances our team has shown this year,” Fisher added. “So many guys stepped up and made big plays along with some smart lacrosse plays that gave us a chance in the end. Our staff could not be happier for the guys and the fact that we have a few more days together with the conference tournament coming up this week.”
Siena outscored the Hawks 3-1 in the third quarter and knotted things up at 11-11 on Brian Prunty's marker early in the fourth. Eamon Campbell's (Massapequa, NY / St. Anthony's) goal with 9:04 left put the Hawks back ahead by one, but Siena scored two over the next six minutes to take a one-goal lead with 2:14 to play. Trailing by one with time running down in regulation, Chris Daly (Wynnewood, PA / Lower Merion) connected with Hunter Jones (Abington, PA / Abington Senior) for a man-up goal with 1:19 left to force the extra period.
The Blue and White wasted no time as Chandler Vanderbeek (Bridgewater, NJ / Immaculata [High Point]) won the opening faceoff which was collected by Jones and brought into zone. Following a timeout by MU, Campbell ripped a shot high and on the restart, Berger fired a shot from the left side that beat Siena's goalkeeper Tommy Cordts inside the far post for the game-winner.
Goalkeeper Nick Hreshko recorded seven saves to earn the victory in cage, while his counterpart suffered the loss, despite making 12 saves.
Monmouth outshot Siena, 41-36, and was a perfect 13-of-13 on clear attempts. The Hawks' defense forced the Saints into 11 turnovers.
Thursday's semifinal game against Marist begins at 3:30 p.m.
Game Notes: Monmouth won its first overtime game in program history (1-1) … Eamon Campbell recorded the second four-point game of his career … Chris Daly had four points for the third time this season … John Castellano and Campbell's three assists each were the most for a Monmouth player this season … Castellano set career highs in points and assists … Dan Bloodgood equaled his season high with three goals … Hunter Jones' goal was his third of the season … Neil Ruppert scored the first goal of his career … Dylan Schulte picked up a season-high five ground balls and tied his career high.
