NEWARK, Del. - - Giovanni Marino's overtime goal kept the No. 16/19 ranked Wilmington University men's lacrosse team undefeated in Central Atlantic Collegiate Conference play, defeating Chestnut Hill, 17-16, on Wednesday afternoon at the WU Athletics Complex.
The play on the field resembled what one would expect of the two remaining unbeaten teams in CACC play, as the teams went back and forth down to the final minute of the game. The Wildcats (9-3, 5-0 CACC) led by as many four, 13-9, late in the third quarter before the Griffins (7-6, 3-1 CACC) battled back in the fourth.
The teams traded the first four goals of the game before Logan Stinson scored back-to-back goals to give the Wildcats a 4-2 lead with 4:05 to play. Chestnut Hill answered with the final goal of the quarter with 20 seconds left, as the Wildcats went into the second quarter, 4-3.
Chestnut Hill tied the game, 4-4, with the first goal of the second quarter but then Jimmy Cava, Jake Copio, and Miles Crouse all scored for the Wildcats to take a 7-4 lead with 9:43 to play in the half.
The Griffins fought right back, however, as they scored four straight of their own to take an 8-7 lead with 2:11 before the break. Jimmy Cava scored the final goal of the half to tie the game, 8-8, after 30 minutes of play.
Jimmy Cava scored the first goal of the second half before Connor Graser saw an opportunity and took it, scoring from beyond half field with 13:05 to play and the 10-8 lead. Jake Copio made it three consecutive goals for the 11-8 lead with 7:13 left in the third quarter. After Chestnut Hill scored to get to 11-9, Logan Stinson and Jimmy Cava scored back-to-back goals as the home team took their largest lead of the game, 13-9, with 3:06 to play in the third.
Giovanni Marino started the fourth with a goal to give the Wildcats a 14-10 lead. But the Griffins didn't back down and fought back with three straight goals to get within 14-13. Jake Copio gave the Wildcats a 15-13 lead with 5:53 to play, but again the Griffins fought back with back-to-back goals to tie the game, 15-15, with 3:21 showing on the clock.
Logan Stinson went low for a goal with 2:12 to play, but the Griffins tied the game with 41 seconds left. The Wildcats won the ensuing faceoff, but Giovanni Marino's shot with 14 seconds left was saved and the Griffins never got a clear chance off at the end of the game.
Tucker Plasse won the faceoff to start overtime and Nick Bruhn scooped up the ground ball. Out of a timeout, Giovanni Marino took it upon himself to win the game, using a bounce shot to beat the goalie and win the game, 17-16.
Logan Stinson scored four goals and added two assists while Jimmy Cava finished with four goals and an assist. Giovanni Marino added four goals while Jake Copio scored three times. Jacob Herman tied his own program record with five assists in the game.
Tucker Plasse went 18-for-26 in the faceoff circle while Jack Bobel went 4-for-10. Nick Bruhn, Tucker Plasse, and Giovanni Marino led the way with five ground balls each. Nick Bruhn had three caused turnovers while Connor Graser and John Greene added two each. Jason Roland made 10 stops in goal, six of which came in the fourth quarter.
The Wildcats have a week off before their next contest, as they home St. Thomas Aquinas in their final home game of the 2022 season on Wednesday. They will honor their seniors prior to the game against the Spartans. The opening face-off is set for 4:00 p.m.