ELKINS, West Virginia -- The Lake Erie men's lacrosse team battled Davis & Elkins on Tuesday evening, emerging victorious for the first time this season in a 12-11 thriller. The Storm led 8-4 by halftime and 10-7 entering the final period, but the Senators rallied back, taking the lead in the final minutes. With four seconds remaining, Andrew Cramer scored to knot the game at 11-apiece, sending it into overtime, where he would net yet another late goal. With 21 seconds left, Joey Ellison found Cramer near the net, where the redshirt junior sank the Senators and, in dramatic fashion, gave LEC their first win of the season.
With the victory, Lake Erie moves to 1-5 overall and 1-2 against G-MAC competition. With their toughest stretch of the season behind them, the Storm will look to build momentum moving forward.
Game Recap
The Senators were up 2-1 after the first period, as despite 12 shot attempts, only Elijah Bush was able to convert, netting his first-ever collegiate goal. Two John Collins goals early in the second period helped the Storm stay on track, and with roughly 10 minutes left before the break, the score was tied at four-apiece as Andrew Cramer entered the scoring column.
From there, it was all LEC. The Storm went on a 4-0 scoring run into halftime, separating themselves from the Senators with an 8-4 lead. John Collins recorded a hat trick in the period, Joey Ellison scored after previously dishing out two assists, and Naythan Zurowski struck twice, marking his 10th goal of the season.
After two goals by the home team kept the game within reach, Billy Coughlin and Andrew Cramer quickly extended the Storm lead back to four. However, the end of the third period and nearly the entire fourth period were dominated by Davis & Elkins, as they scored five unanswered goals to not only erase the deficit but take the lead in the closing minutes.
It appeared Lake Erie was headed toward 0-6 in what would have been an incredibly frustrating loss, but Andrew Cramer wasn't going down that easily. With just four seconds left, he answered the call, firing a shot past the goalkeeper and sending his team into celebration.
Regulation wasn't enough, as both sides lined up for four extra minutes. Overtime was electric from start to finish, as there were four shots on target. Davis & Elkins saved two, Noah Beckett made one save, but Andrew Cramer came up as the hero once again, scoring with 21 seconds remaining to secure an incredible victory.
Notables
Nicolas Shankland paced the team in ground balls with four, tying freshman Ashlen Rabold for the team lead.
Noah Beckett played the entire game in net for the Storm, recording 15 saves.
Andrew Cramer's four goals bring him up to nine on the season, third on the team behind Billy Coughlin (11) and Naythan Zurowski (10).
Joey Ellison not only recorded his first assist of the season tonight, but finished with three assists.
Looking Ahead
Next up for the Storm is Wheeling University, who will travel to Painesville on Saturday, March 14th for a 4 PM matchup. The Cardinals are 1-2 this season. They lost their only G-MAC game 17-7 against Davenport but won their most recent game 8-7 over Holy Name. Wheeling has allowed 32 more shots than they've taken through their first three games. Senior Jack Rowe leads the team with 17 shots and five goals.
