Box Score COLLEGEVILLE, Pa. – It took more than 70 minutes, plenty of twists and turns and a quite a bit of anxiety, but when the dust settled on the Ursinus College men's lacrosse team's unforgettable battle with Montclair State on Wednesday, it was the Bears who were left standing after the longest game the program has ever seen.
Sophomore Peter DeSimone's top-shelf rocket with 1:30 remaining in the third overtime gave 14th-ranked Ursinus (4-0) a walk-off win in a clash that takes its place among the annals as the first triple-overtime game in school history. The Bears are 4-0 for the second time in three seasons, and Wednesday's victory marked the first time the program has ever opened a season with four straight double-digit scoring outputs.
Ursinus has won 13 consecutive home games, but this one required plenty of work.
Both teams had golden chances in extra time before DeSimone deposited his game-winner. Montclair State's Brady Wulster had a look from just outside the crease with a minute remaining in the first overtime but sent his potential clincher just high, and Don Finn's close-range effort with 14.6 ticks remaining in that frame nearly found the back of the net.
Red Hawks goalie Lucas Jones stoned Bears sophomore Patrick Bernicker all alone on the doorstep in the second extra session, and both teams survived multiple possessions by the other before Ursinus took advantage of a critical Montclair State turnover in the third overtime period. Jones had made a save on a shot by junior Gerard Brown, but his clearing pass sailed out of bounds, giving the Bears another chance. DeSimone made sure the Red Hawks paid, gaining enough separation to fire off a left-handed shot that scorched the back of the net and sent the home bench spilling onto the field in relieved celebration.
DeSimone's dagger added another layer of heartbreak for a Montclair State team that has lost its first four games – all to ranked teams, and by a combined seven goals.
This one had so much drama that it was almost easy to forget that the Bears trailed 9-4 with 4:45 to play in the third quarter after Matt Haemmerle delivered his fifth goal of the afternoon. Ursinus' then-struggling defense rose up, holding the Red Hawks scoreless for the next nearly 20 minutes as the offense came to life.
Freshman Reagan Ketchum's man-up strike pulled Ursinus within 9-5, and junior Ian Desenberg's bar-down blast on a feed from freshman Bobby McClure closed the gap to three heading into the final frame.
Ketchum opened the fourth-quarter scoring with an unassisted marker before junior Lou Harrison made it a one-goal game at the 11:18 mark. McClure's lone goal of the day leveled the spread at 9 with 7:12 to play, and Harrison handed the Bears their first lead since the first quarter when he powered in for the go-ahead tally with 1:51 to play.
Montclair State pulled even on Ryan Anzalone's first of the year with 54.5 seconds remaining, setting the stage for more than ten more minutes of pure drama.
Harrison registered the second hat trick of his career and added an assist on McClure's fourth-quarter finish. McClure his remarkable start with a goal and three assists, giving him at least four points in every game this season.
DeSimone's game-winner was his second goal of the game, and Ketchum matched him with a pair of his own. Senior Matthew Cioeta netted his first of the season late in the first quarter.
Freshmen Nolan Sachs and Noah Frantz joined Brown, Cioeta, and junior Tim Miller with four ground balls each, and senior Zach Jones finished with three caused turnovers. Senior Corey Kelly caused two, including one in the second overtime for a defense that withstood six Montclair State possessions after regulation. The Bears penalty kill unit held the Red Hawks scoreless in four extra-man opportunities.
Sophomore goalkeeper Elliot Shevitz racked up 12 saves, including one in each overtime period. Jones finished with 14 stops for Montclair State.
The Bears found a way to win despite the best efforts of Blasé Mantineo, who dominated the faceoff X all afternoon. Mantineo won 21 of 26 faceoffs against three different opponents and collected 13 ground balls.
The men's lacrosse team has a few days to recover before welcoming Elizabethtown to Patterson Field for a non-conference showdown on Saturday.
