For second straight week, Kyle Smith rescues UMass with overtime goal
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AMHERST - If the University of Massachusetts men's lacrosse team returns to the NCAA Tournament this season, the Minutemen will look back on an unforgettable two-week stretch by Kyle Smith as a key reason for their success.
For the second straight week, the sophomore attackman delivered a game-winning goal in overtime as the Minutemen came from behind to beat Drexel 11-10 in three overtimes Saturday at Garber Field.
Smith was attacking the net when he took a pass from Will Manny, who was behind the cage. Smith was hit as he unleashed his shot from point-blank range, and as he fell to the turf the ball eluded Dragon All-American goalie Mark Manos inside the right post, 1 minute, 23 seconds into the third overtime.
"The ability to put that one away, you can't coach that. That's in him," UMass coach Greg Cannella said. "That's a great play. I'm so happy."
Smith had barely gotten off the turf when his teammates returned him to it at the bottom of a celebratory pile. It was a familiar spot for the Longmeadow native. He scored the game-winner last week 1:55 into overtime against Towson.
"For it to happen one time, it can be a one-time thing," Smith said. "Now I'm confident going into overtimes that I can score."
A loss either last week at Towson or Saturday against Drexel would have been a big setback to the Minutemen (8-3, 3-1 Colonial Athletic Association).
Instead, they will bring plenty of momentum into next week's game against No. 8 Hofstra (3 p.m., East Hartford), a contest that will have implications on the seed for UMass in the CAA Tournament and its chance of making the NCAA Tournament.
"Winning two games like this and three in a row is really big going into Hofstra," Smith said. "Hopefully we'll come to play for that, too."
A UMass celebration seemed unlikely late in the third quarter. After the Minutemen led 5-4 at halftime, the Dragons scored five straight goals in the third quarter to take a 9-5 lead with 5:26 left in the period. Ryan Hantverk scored an extra-man goal for UMass to cut the deficit with 1:41 left, but Nick Trizano answered for Drexel less than a minute later to regain momentum and a four-goal lead.
But with less than 10 seconds left in the period, Minuteman Mike Wilus scooped a long rebound and slung it toward the net. His shot was deflected, but Manny alertly scooped the ball and flipped it past Manos to make the score 10-7 going into the final period.
The play seemed to ignite the Minutemen, especially Manny, who had been quiet until that point. The sophomore scored again 30 seconds into the fourth quarter and the previously nervous UMass crowd of 1,827 came to life. With Greg Rushing controlling three of the four fourth-quarter faceoffs, the Minutemen grabbed momentum.
With just under 13 minutes left, Anthony Biscardi fooled a defender by faking a shot from the perimeter, allowing him to cut into the Drexel zone and get about 15 feet closer. There, he ripped a shot past Manos (18 saves) to make it 10-9.
If not for UMass goalie Tim McCormack (12 saves), who made three big fourth-quarter stops, the Minutemen might not have completed their comeback.
"Timmy and the defense were great all day," Cannella said. "We shut them down for 25 minutes. Once they scored their 10, they didn't score again. That enabled us to come back."
McCormack and the defense kept the game close until Manny tied the score with 3:47 left by threading the ball through a small opening between the 6-foot-2, 270-pound goalie and the right post.
"This is the part of the season where it's a must win," Manny said. "We're proving right now even if we're down, we might bend, but we're not going to break. We're going to come right back at you,"
The Minutemen nearly won the game in regulation as Art Kell's shot hit the post at the buzzer.
Both teams had chances and costly turnovers in the first two overtimes before Smith's heroics ended the longest UMass lacrosse game since March 30, 1988, an 8-7 win at Cornell. The Minutemen had not played that long a game at home since April 4, 1974, a 10-9 loss to Cortland.
"He's a great crease attackman," Manny said of Smith. "I saw him because he had room. I got it to him and he's one of the best finishers on the team. It's a great feeling."
Matt Vautour can be reached at mvautour@gazettenet.com. Follow UMass coverage on Twitter at twitter.com/GazetteUMass. Get UMass coverage delivered in your Facebook news feed at http://www.facebook.com/GazetteUMassCoverage.
