CHARLOTTE, N.C. – The nationally seventh-ranked Limestone College men's lacrosse team rallied from an early deficit and held a lead in the fourth quarter, but Queens University of Charlotte stormed back late in the final period to steal a 15-14 nonconference decision on Tuesday, April 3 at Marion Diehl Park.
GAME INFORMATION
Score: Queens 15, No. 7 Limestone 14
Records: Queens (5-5), No. 7 Limestone (8-4)
Location: Marion Diehl Park
INSIDE THE BOXSCORE
- Freshman Noah Lindner (Apple Valley, Minn.) tallied four points on a goal and three assists
- Sophomore Clark Walter (Port Coquitlam, British Columbia) chipped in a goal and three assists
- Senior Charlie Sheehan (St. Catharines, Ontario) finished with a pair of goals
- Sophomore Tyler Papa (Manlius, N.Y.) also record two goals
- Freshman Cody Solmosy (Farmingville, N.Y.) registered two scores
- Junior Matt Bennett (Nedrow, N.Y.) added two goals
- Senior Ben Higgins (Hampstead, Md.) posted a goal and two assists
- Junior Matt Hommel (Ballston Spa, N.Y.) scored a goal and dished out an assist
- Sophomore Dakota Kirsh-Downs (Odenton, Md.) won 17-of-32 faceoff attempts
HOW IT HAPPENED
First Quarter
The Royals raced out to a 5-0 lead over the first 6:15 of the opening quarter, but Papa would get the Saints on the board with his 12
th goal of the season a few ticks later. Higgins would score late in the period, but Queens added another goal with less than two minutes left for a 6-2 cushion at the end of one.
Second Quarter
The home team extended the margin to 8-2 early in the period, but the Blue and Gold responded with a 6-0 spurt over a six-minute span to pull even in the closing seconds. Junior Colton Moseman (Malta, N.Y.) sparked the run with his fifth goal of the year before Bennett added his sixth about 90 ticks later.
Sheehan found the back of the net, cutting the margin to 8-5 with 3:11 remaining in the half, before Solmosy tied the contest by capping a string of three straight goals over a 79-second stretch. However, the Royals would score with five seconds left in the period to retake the lead, 9-8, just before the break.
Third Quarter
The Saints once again tied the game as Walter tallied the equalizer just 36 seconds into the second half before senior
Brendan P. Smith (West Islip, N.Y.) gave the visitors their first lead of the night, 10-9, with 9:22 remaining.
Bennett registered his second goal of the night midway through the third, scoring off a dish from Lindner to make it an 11-9 game, but the Royals would pull to within one with 5:34 left in the stanza.
Fourth Quarter
Queens tied things up again with an early score in the fourth, but Sheehan would put Limestone back on top, 12-11, with 11:05 showing on the clock. However, the Royals scored on the ensuring faceoff to spark a 3-0 run over the next couple of minutes as the home team moved back in front, 14-12.
Hommel trimmed the margin to one with four minutes to play, but Queens answered on the other end to make it a two-goal game with 2:46 left. The Saints closed the gap to 15-14 a few seconds later, and then won the resulting faceoff, but a costly turnover with less than a minute remaining would seal the upset.
TURNING POINT
Limestone rallied from an 8-2 second-quarter deficit and would lead 12-11 early in the fourth period. The Royals refused to go away though as they scored four of the final six goals of the game to steal the win.
NOTABLES
- The Royals posted a win over the Saints for the first time since 2006 – a span of 12 years
- Limestone finished with a 44-35 edge in shots attempted
- Queens recorded a 30-24 advantage in groundballs
- The Saints turned the ball over 16 times, including 10 in the second half
UP NEXT
Limestone is back on the road as it travels to face Catawba College in a nonconference tilt on Friday, April 6 at 7 p.m.
