moore vs. cleveland state
Randall K. Wolf
12
Winner Cleveland St. CLEVELAN 1-0, 0-0
11
VMI VMI 0-1, 0-0
Winner
Cleveland St. CLEVELAN
1-0, 0-0
12
Final
11
VMI VMI
0-1, 0-0
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 3 4 OT F
Cleveland St. CLEVELAN 3 1 2 5 1 12
VMI VMI 0 3 6 2 0 11

Game Recap: Lacrosse |

Keydets drop OT heartbreaker to Cleveland State, 12-11

Gallery

LEXINGTON, Va. – In a hard-fought game that featured three ties and three lead changes, the VMI lacrosse team fell in heartbreaking fashion to visiting Cleveland State, 12-11, in overtime Saturday afternoon at Drill Field #2 in the season opener for both teams.
 
As two future affiliate members of the Northeast Conference beginning in 2025, the Keydets and Vikings battled to the end on a sunny afternoon in Lexington.
 
Cleveland State jumped ahead early and led by a 3-0 score at the end of the first period. VMI regained its bearings, however, and scored twice quickly in the second period off unassisted goals from Luke Mryncza and Simon Moore. After a Viking goal, VMI freshman Dayton Bagwell provided VMI with one more score at the 6:40 mark to go into the break down just one score, 4-3.
 
The Keydets (0-1) tied it up early in the third off a goal by Luke Rusterucci then grabbed their first lead moments later off a goal by Nate Golding.
 
With VMI ahead 9-6 going into the fourth quarter, the Vikings (1-0) rallied for five unanswered goals to move ahead, 11-9, with 3:59 left in regulation.
 
VMI freshman Jake McClure and Moore rallied to tie it up for VMI with a pair of goals with under three minutes to play to force the extra period.
 
With only 44 seconds left in overtime, Cleveland State's Connor Zwagerman scored the sudden death goal to allow the Vikings to escape with the 12-11 road win.
 
VMI Head Coach James Purpura
"It was obviously not the result we wanted, but give credit to Cleveland State. They did a good job and found a way to get the final score. Early season games generally come down to a few mistakes and we made just a few too many to pull it out. We had a chance in OT and hit the goalie. Offensively, we were pretty balanced scoring wise. We had four freshmen score their first career goals which is something they will remember for the rest of their lives. Defensively, we played well and I thought our guys stepped up to the challenge. There were plenty of great moments for us to learn from and I'm excited to get back to work with this group."
 
Inside the Box Score
*Moore led VMI with a hat trick on the day while Rusterucci contributed two goals and an assist. Rusterucci finished with nine shot attempts while Moore tallied seven.
*Mryncza, Ty Yonas, Bagwell, Jack Duncan-Bloom, Golding and McClure all had solo goals for VMI
*Defensively, VMI junior James Boynewicz logged three caused turnovers and goalie Adam Norris registered 10 saves
*Parker Yearego led Cleveland State with four goals on the day while Wyatt Robertson and Gavin Held each had two
*CSU goalie Connor Kernan earned the win with 14 saves on the afternoon
 
Up Next
The Keydets stay home to face Queens (N.C.) next Saturday at 12 p.m. on Drill Field #2.
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
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