HOBOKEN, N.J. (May 6, 2017) – The Nazareth College men's lacrosse team won the 2017 Empire 8 Men's Lacrosse Championship on an overtime goal by Anthony Basile to top No. 18 Stevens Institute of Technology 11-10 on Saturday in Hoboken. The epic matchup featured four ties and five lead changes.
Nazareth, the tournaments' three-seed, earned its 10th Empire 8 crown since 2000 and the league's automatic bid into the 2017 NCAA Division III Men's Lacrosse Championship.
Top-seeded Stevens was in control early on.
Carson White made four big saves in the first quarter; both teams put four shots on goal in the opening period but three of the Ducks' volleys found the back of the net for a 3-0 lead.
As the second quarter started,
Dallas Creamer, a defender, found himself in the Naz zone with a wide-open lane in transition. The junior fired a laser with the long stick past the Flyer goaltender for a 4-0 Stevens lead.
The Ducks held Naz scoreless for the first 18 minutes of the contest; Paul Walter finally stopped the run with a goal from Hunter Burdick at 11:55 of the second.
White even lent a hand on the offensive end, setting up
Kevin Louie for Stevens' fifth goal at 9:35.
As dominant as the Ducks were, Nazareth clawed its way back with five-straight goals in the final 10 minutes before halftime to take a 6-5 lead into the break. Joe Eiskant netted two in that run.
Perhaps the biggest reason for the Naz comeback was Seth DeLisle, who won nine-straight face-offs during that stretch and 12-of-13 in the first half. Stevens was on the defensive most of the second quarter and was outshot 20-2 in the period.
Eiskant scored to put Naz up two early in the third, and all the momentum was seemingly on the Flyers' side.
But there the Ducks made their run:
Brendan Monteleone and
John Boutureira scored within 30 seconds of each other to knot the game up. Naz scored the next one, but
Dean Peluso answered with back-to-back strikes to flip the lead back to Stevens.
In the fourth quarter,
Tim Leahey fired one in the first minute to bump the Duck lead up to two.
Still, Naz ralied to tie the game with less than two minutes to go. Paul Walter supplied the game-tying 10th goal of the game for the Golden Flyers.
White posted a huge save right on the draw after Naz tied the game with less than two minutes to go, helping to send the Empire 8 Championship into sudden-death overtime.
In the extra period, DeLisle won his 20th faceoff of the day and scooped his 17th ground ball to set up the Golden Flyers. Nick Arnold's pass to Basile was converted into the championship-winning goal at 1:44 of overtime.
The Flyouts outshot Stevens 40-23 and won 20-of-24 faceoffs. White made 12 saves for the Ducks. Peluso finished with a hat trick and
Max Bailey led the team with two assists. Midfielder
Connor Towne scooped up a team-best six ground balls and
Robert Williams came off the bench to force five Naz turnovers.
Tommy Dawson (A), Creamer (D) and Peluso (M) were named to the Empire 8 All-Tournament team for their performances this week.
Stevens will discover its NCAA fate on Sunday night at 9 p.m. during the NCAA Selection Show, which can be seen at NCAA.com/live. The Ducks will be looking for their first NCAA appearance since earning an at-large bid in 2013.
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