levin vs. high point
Randall K. Wolf
12
Winner High Point HPU 0-1, 0-0
11
VMI VMI 1-0, 0-0
Winner
High Point HPU
0-1, 0-0
12
Final
11
VMI VMI
1-0, 0-0
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 3 4 OT F
High Point HPU 2 2 4 3 1 12
VMI VMI 7 1 3 0 0 11

Game Recap: Lacrosse |

Lacrosse falls to High Point in OT

LEXINGTON, Va. – The VMI lacrosse team jumped ahead to a 7-0 lead in the opening period but could not sustain the lead as visiting High Point came from behind to earn a 12-11 win in overtime over the Keydets Saturday afternoon at Drill Field #2.
 
Six different Keydets scored the seven goals over the opening 12 minutes as the Keydets (1-1) took the Panthers (1-1) by surprise to begin the game.

VMI Head Coach James Purpura
"It's certainly a heart-breaker, but I'm proud of this team. It's not the result we wanted, but we played some really good lacrosse today against a good opponent who over the last few years has been a consistent Top 20 threat. Credit to them, they had a few more possessions and were able to capitalize in the overtime period to win it. Our group was resilient.

"Nearly half the team battled the flu this week at some point in some capacity, but they kept working hard despite the adversity and gave a solid effort today. Offensively, we came out firing and capitalized on our opportunities. We had spread out scoring, but we needed to shoot better later in the game and continue to play with confidence. On the defensive end, we played some solid defense and when there was a mistake, we were anchored by Damian Levin, who had another great game giving us a chance to win and that's all you can ask of your goalie.

"Our young face-off group improved today going against a solid High Point tandem and ultimately the possession battle tilted in their favor. Certainly we will get back to work. I'm excited about the potential of this group and I know we will come back Monday humble and hungry to continue to get better."
 
First Half
VMI's Austin English struck first at the 12:19 mark and was followed by goals from Wil Duffy (twice), Simon Moore, Matt Nichols, Luke Rusterucci and Dayton Bagwell.
 
High Point made a goalie change after falling behind 7-0 and momentum started to shift in favor of the Panthers. High Point closed the period with two goals to stop the bleeding and opened the second period with a pair of goals to trim the VMI lead to 7-4 with 7:42 remaining before halftime. Bagwell would score once more to give the Keydets an 8-4 advantage at the break.
 
Second Half
The teams went blow-for-blow in the third period as the Panthers put in four goals to VMI's three. High Point clamped down on defense in the final period and did not allow a VMI goal while putting in three scores, including the game-tying goal with 47 seconds remaining by Collin Rovere.
 
The Keydets had a few scoring opportunities in the overtime period but the shots fell just wide of the cage. With 1:34 left on the clock, High Point's Owen Bunten scored the game-winning sudden death goal for the visitors to complete the come-from-behind win.
 
Key Stats
*High Point won 18 of 27 faceoff attempts during the game
*VMI goalie Damian Levin earned a career-high 20 saves during the game
*Bunten finished the game with four goals for the Panthers while Jeb Brenfleck, Rovere and Colin Cooke all logged two apiece.
 
Up Next
The Keydets will face former Southern Conference colleague Mercer next Saturday at 12 p.m. in Macon, Georgia. Faceoff is slated for a noon start.
 
 
 
 
Print Friendly Version