Kyle Smith has done it again.
The sophomore attack scored the game-winner for the second consecutive week to propel the No. 15 Massachusetts men’s lacrosse team past Drexel, 11-10, in triple overtime at Garber Field on Saturday.
Will Manny fed Smith on a back-door cut in front of the net, who fought off the Dragon (6-6, 2-3 Colonial Athletic Association) defense and scored as he was falling to the ground with 2:37 remaining in the third overtime. The goal sent the Minutemen and the crowd into a frenzy as the team stormed the field to pile on top of Smith.
His goal followed up his performance last Saturday, when he netted an overtime goal against Towson to lift the Minutemen (8-3, 3-1 Colonial Athletic Association) to a 9-8 victory on April 9.
“For it to happen once, it would be a one-time thing, but now I’m confident going into overtime that I can score,” said Smith in a UMassAthletics.com interview.
The goal capped an electric comeback as UMass trailed by four goals late in the third quarter but were able to knot the score at 10 to force overtime.
“This is the part of the season where it’s a must-win and we’re proving right now that even if we’re down, we might bend but we’re not [going to] break,” said Manny, who led the team with three goals and three assists on the afternoon. “We’re [going to] come right back at you and it’s a very special thing. Going into Hofstra next week, it’s [going to] be a great feeling.”
The teams were neck-and-neck throughout the first half, exchanging scores with UMass on top, 5-4, at the break. The Dragons came out of halftime firing on all cylinders, scoring the first five goals after the break.
The game was the Minutemen’s longest since March 30, 1988, when the Minutemen beat Cornell, 8-7, in Ithica, N.Y., in Coach Greg Cannella’s senior year.
Drexel held a 10-6 lead as the final seconds ticked away in the third quarter, but the Minutemen caught a fortunate spark to swing the momentum back in their favor.
With less than 10 seconds remaining in the period, UMass’ Mike Wilus intercepted a clearing attempt and rifled the ball towards the net. The ball took a fortunate bounce towards Manny, who put it past goalkeeper Mark Manos as time expired to cut the deficit to 10-7. The referees met and confirmed the goal, leaving the Dragons in shock as the period came to an end.
“That’s a huge goal,” said Cannella. “…That gives your team hope, that gives your team the confidence [it needs] to move forward.”
The Minutemen followed the circus goal with three unanswered scores in the fourth to force overtime, including Manny’s third goal of the game to cap the comeback with 3:46 remaining in regulation.
Colin Fleming, Anthony Biscardi and Smith each had a pair of goals on the day for UMass. The Dragons were lead by Kyle Bergman’s three goals, while leading scorer Scott Perri was held to just one.
The Maroon and White remained in striking distance thanks to key stops by goalkeeper Tim McCormack and the entire defensive unit.
“I thought [McCormack and the defense] were great all day,” said Cannella. “…Once they got their 10th [goal], that was a long stretch [of stops and] they didn’t score again in the game and that enabled us to come back.”
The Minutemen had a chance to win it in the final seconds of regulation. After Ryan Hollenbaugh caused a Drexel turnover, he passed the ball ahead to Bobby Tyler. The sophomore sprinted into the offensive zone and found Art Kell, whose turnaround shot bounced off the post, just missing the game-winning score.
Drexel had a chance in the final seconds of the second overtime period to grab the win when Scott Perri tried a turnaround shot from the left wing, but UMass’ Jake Smith stood tall and disrupted the shot, which was secured by McCormack to force a third overtime.
UMass will be riding its three-game winning streak into Saturday’s matchup with No. 7 Hofstra at a neutral site in East Hartford, Conn. at 3 p.m.
Stephen Sellner can be reached at [email protected].
