LAX Wins Home Opener vs. Becker in OT

NEW LONDON, Conn. – The Mitchell College men's lacrosse team survived a furious fourth quarter comeback by Becker College to pull out an 11-10 victory in overtime on Saturday afternoon at New London High School.

Junior David Klapp netted the game-winning goal just 46 seconds into extra time to give the Mariners (1-1 overall, 1-0 NECC) their first victory of the season. The game was also the first for Mitchell in the New England Collegiate Conference, which added the sport of men's lacrosse for the 2013 season.

Becker (1-1 overall, 1-1 NECC) trailed 7-3 at halftime and 10-4 heading into the fourth quarter before storming back with six straight goals to tie the game over the final 15 minutes of regulation. John DeAngelis and David Deschenes each scored a pair of goals in the stanza to fuel the rally. Deschenes' final goal of the day brought the Hawks all the way back and tied the score at 10-10 with less than a minute to play.

Mitchell won the faceoff to start overtime but quickly turned the ball over. Becker had the first scoring chance in extra time, but the shot was stopped by junior goalie Peter Eshenfelder. After Mitchell cleared the ball into its offensive zone, Klapp hung on to a pass on the left wing and waited for his chance to take a rip at the goal. His shot from 10 yards out slipped under the crossbar for the game-ending score.

Klapp finished with two goals and three assists while junior Demetre Lyras added four goals for the Mariners. DeAngelis paced Becker with four goals while Deschenes recorded three goals and an assist.

Each team scored two goals in the opening period, but the Mariners took control with a dominating second quarter. Mitchell outscored Becker 5-1 as Lyras led the way with three scores in the stanza.

Things looked more promising for the Mariners after outscoring the Hawks 3-1 in the third period. Becker, however, opened the fourth quarter strong to get back into the contest. Deschenes was the catalyst, winning three straight face-offs to give his team the ball. The Hawks capitalized by turning all three possessions into quick scores, netting three goals in the opening 1:27 of the quarter.

From there, Becker clawed back to within 10-8 on a goal by Jeff Petersen with 6:20 remaining. Cody Leary then added a goal 21 seconds later to cut the deficit to one, and Deschenes later knotted the score up at 10-10 with 57 ticks left on the clock.

Becker held a 43-33 edge in shots—including 15-5 in the fourth quarter—but failed to take advantage of three extra-man opportunities. Mitchell went 3-for-5 on the day with the man advantage.

Eshenfelder finished with 16 saves in goal to earn his first win of the season. Michael Munoz made 10 stops for the Hawks in the loss.

Mitchell returns to action at SUNYIT on Thursday, March 7 at 7 p.m.