By: Brayden Peters
BROCKPORT, N.Y. - The Brockport Golden Eagles men’s lacrosse team fell just shy of beating Ohio Northern Saturday, losing 13-12 in overtime. Brockport came into the game coming off two tough losses. The Polar Bears, came in with a record of 2-1, with both their wins were by an average of 10.5 goals.
The first quarter initially looked like it wasn’t going to be easy for Brockport to keep up with the Polar Bears. ONU got off to a strong start with John Lynn scoring the first goal of the game. The Golden Eagles were able to respond, with Nick Askin burying one to tie the game at one a piece.
ONU then went on a two unanswered goal run, with Colin Frech scoring in transition and Colin Willits burying one as well. Brockport was able to cut into that two-goal lead with Marc Zappula scoring his first collegiate goal. It was a long time coming for the freshman.
“It felt great,” Zappula said. “Wide open on the doorstep kind of, just put it in the back of the net."
That did not stop the Polar Bears from producing offensively, as they scored two more goals thanks to their goal leader Aidan Dempsey and Lynn.
With less than a minute to go before the end of the quarter, the Golden Eagles were able to pick up one last goal thanks to a howitzer from Jackson Worden. Although Brockport was only down by two going into the second, Ohio Northern’s defense were able to keep them in check. Brockport didn’t have a significant number of high-quality scoring chances, but were able to capitalize on the ones they had.
Brockport started to gain some control of the game from ONU in the second quarter. The Golden Eagles were able to tie the game at 5-5 with Zappula scoring his second goal of the game and Nate Askin picking up his first of the season. The Polar Bears responded again with two of their own goals, thanks to Riley O’Neal and Dempsey.
Brockport tied the game again with Zappula recording a hat trick and Askin scoring his second. For Brockport, it was good to see Askin on the field again after suffering an upper body injury against St. John Fisher.
“He’s got one of the best energies on the team,” Zappula said. “We were talking yesterday, even if he didn’t do a lot on the field, he’s still attracting the LSM (long stick midfielder) anyway…He stepped up for us. It was nice to have him out on the field.”
Dempsey was able to sneak one more goal in for ONU to record the hat trick. Although Brockport was down 8-7 going into the half, they were more productive offensively compared to ONU.
Brockport scored four goals in the quarter compared to the Polar Bears’ three, with Brockport finding multiple ways to break through the ONU defense. However, Brockport’s defense continued to struggle to contain ONU’s high powered offense. Brockport’s defensive midfielders were getting beaten up towards the restraining line, giving the Polar Bears’ midfielders scoring lanes.
The third quarter was just as eventful as the second. Andrew Caliri helped extend the Polar Bears’ lead with a goal not even a minute into the quarter. Brockport was able to respond with two of their own goals from Nick Askin and Zappula to tie the game at nine a piece.
After Brockport’s Zack Cole was penalized for pushing in the back, Dempsey took advantage of the man-up opportunity. He scored his fourth goal of the game for ONU.
Brockport continued their theme of responding with two goals, as Worden and Garrett Smith helped give Brockport their first lead of the game. With Worden’s goal, it marked the first time this season that the Golden Eagles scored double digit goals in a game.
With 23 seconds left to go in the quarter, Dempsey was able to sneak in a late goal to help the Polar Bears tie the game up 11-11.
It was uneventful in the fourth quarter. Brockport’s defense began playing more physical and were able to shut down the ONU offense. The Golden Eagles’ goalie Jack Acker was solid in net. Brockport would give up a goal to Mitchel Luck early in the quarter, giving ONU the lead.
Brockport did record a goal to tie the game up 12-12 thanks to Nick Askin. Brockport wouldn’t be able to find any other offensive success outside of the lone goal.
The Polar Bears’ defense played strong, fundamentally sound defense, forcing Brockport’s offense out towards the perimeter. Not only that, but ONU goalie Cole Zaferakis was a brick wall in net, recording 10 saves.
No one else was able to score, so the game was sent to overtime. Thanks to a critical faceoff win from Rudy DeFilippis, Ohio Northern set up offensively first. They took advantage of the opportunity, with John Lynn scoring the game winner, giving the Polar Bears the 13-12 win.
Although Brockport did lose, there seems to be a different vibe from the team that no one saw in the first two games. They played more physically on defense and looked more energized. With approaching overtime, the team was riding on a wave of confidence.
“It felt great,” Zappula said. “Not even the nerves, but the excitement being in the game and then even it going to overtime. It feels great.”
Brockport will remain winless for now, falling to 0-3 while Ohio Northern improves to 3-1. The Golden Eagles will prepare for next Saturday, when they hit the road to face Westminster College in New Wilmington, PA. The game is scheduled to start at 1 p.m.