(Box Score)
SALEM, Mass. – Sophomore Teddy
Akriviellis (Dover, Mass.) scored his second goal of the
game 32 seconds into overtime Saturday evening as Plymouth State
University held on for a thrilling 9-8 victory over Salem State
College in a Little East Conference men's lacrosse game at
Alumni Field.
Akriviellis' goal capped a wild night that saw PSU race out
to a 5-0 second-quarter advantage, only to see Salem State battle
back and take a pair of fourth quarter leads. The Panthers
forced overtime with a game-tying goal with 10 seconds left in
regulation and then won it in overtime. It was the second straight
overtime victory for PSU, which defeated Lasell in an extra period
in its last outing on Wednesday afternoon.
Senior Matt Johansmeyer (Shelburne Falls, Mass.)
opened the scoring for Plymouth State 46 seconds into the game,
followed by junior Andrew Eriksen's
(Beverly, Mass.) first goal to give the Panthers a 2-0 lead.
Akriviellis and Eriksen added goals for PSU to increase the
lead to 4-0 after one.
The Panthers dominated play in the opening period outshooting
Salem State 10-4. Junior Andrew Kirwin (Bow, N.H.)
added the fifth unanswered goal at 12:42 of the second quarter to
give the Panthers a commanding 5-0 lead.
Salem State did not quit, however, and rallied with four straight
goals to gain momentum and reduce the halftime deficit to just one
goal at 5-4. Turning the tables, the Vikings fired off 12 shots to
just six for Plymouth State in the second quarter. Justin Jones and
Robert Mulroy scored for the Vikings before Jonathan Falls notched
the first of his three goals to make the score 5-3. Matt Cordero on
an assist from Falls cut the lead to 5-4 just before the half.
Falls drew the Vikings to within 6-5 midway through the third
period. The Vikings finally took the lead, 7-6, in the first minute
of the fourth quarter. Johansmeyer tied the game again at 7-7
before Jones netted his second goal of the game at the 7:50 mark of
the fourth period to give Salem State an 8-7 lead.
It looked as if that goal would be the game-winner until freshman
Mike Ventura (Columbia, N.J.) scored for Plymouth
State with just 10 seconds remaining in regulation to force the
extra period.
PSU junior Kevin Hayes (Beverly, Mass.) made seven
saves to earn the win and Brendan Gill countered with 12 saves for
the Vikings. Salem State dropped to 6-5 and 1-2 in conference,
while Plymouth State improved to 4-6 and 1-2 in the Little East.
Both teams play Little East Conference games on Tuesday, Plymouth
State hosting Southern Maine at Panther Field (4:00 p.m.) and Salem
State traveling Western Connecticut (7:00 p.m.)
(Courtesy of Salem State Sports Information)
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