POTSDAM — With the shot clock running down, St. Lawrence University’s Ben Hutchinson knew he had to take a shot.
His shot, with 29 seconds left in overtime, wound up sending the fifth-seeded Saints to the Liberty League semifinals after a 10-9 victory over No. 4 Clarkson on Tuesday afternoon.
The goal also avenged a 14-9 loss to the Golden Knights on April 19.
SLU (12-5 overall), will travel to play top-seeded RIT this weekend with a time and date to be announced.
“There was a lot of space up top, and they were a little spread out, so I just took advantage of that (spot) up top,” Hutchinson said. “We had five seconds left in the shot clock, so I had to get it on cage.”
The Saints held a 9-7 lead with 6 minutes, 14 seconds left in regulation but Clarkson (11-5) tied the game with goals from Bryan Penney (3:59) and Tyler Hall (1:56).
SLU won 14 of the 23 faceoffs but was called for an infraction on the overtime faceoff, giving Clarkson the first possession.
“We had to reset,” Hutchinson said. “It was tough losing that first faceoff and going on defense, but the defense made a great stop. We were able to get down and bury one. It was tough losing to them at home (in April). We knew we could take the win.”
It was a grueling game for both coaches.
“I told the guys someone else has to drive the van home because I have to go see the cardiologist,” SLU coach Mike Mahoney joked. “It was what you would expect. Coach (Bill) Bergan and that program, they come and they battle and that’s what we fully expected. We were fortunate enough to get a shot at the end there. It could have gone either way.”
Clarkson’s bench was frustrated late in the overtime when a Golden Knight was knocked down and turned the ball over after a hard hit. Bergan argued that it was a hit from behind but did not sway the officials.
“It is what it is,” Bergan said. “It’s a tough way to lose a game. They won it so there’s not much you can say. They played hard and I’m proud of my guys. It was a great lacrosse game.
“I don’t think we shot as well (as the April 19 game). We had a lot of chances to score and they had a lot of chances to score. Our goalie (Jacob Mattice) played great again. They struggled a little bit with our zone but they hung with it and got opportunities when they needed.”
The game was close throughout as a two-goal lead was the most either team could build.
Clarkson led 6-4 early in the third quarter only to see the Saints score four straight goals.
“They got into a zone and gave us some trouble and we stalled out a little bit offensively,” Mahoney said. “It’s 9-7 and we had the ball and thought maybe if you get to 10-7 you would feel pretty good, but then it’s 9-8 and 9-9 and you are hanging out. I thought our defense and goalie (Michael Marinello) came up with some good stops at the end.”
When SLU lost the regular-season game the team struggled early, falling behind 5-1 after one quarter.
The Saints led 3-2 after the opening quarter this time and struck first with a goal from Canton native Bobby Wells, assisted by another former Golden Bear, Cody Sipher.
“It was awesome,” Wells said of the game. “This was my first (overtime) game at St. Lawrence and the energy on the bench was awesome and the energy on the field was awesome. We faced some adversity but we got through it.”
Hutchinson led the Saints with three goals and Judge Murphy scored twice.
Penney led Clarkson with three goals with Matt Reilly throwing in two.
SUNY CANTON 16, NORTHERN VERMONT-LYNDON 0
The Kangaroos enjoyed a 38-7 edge in shots in an NAC win over Northern Vermont-Lyndon (1-8, 0-8) in Vermont.
Nick Snyder and Alex Jacobs scored two goals for SUNY Canton (6-9, 4-4).
Hayden Todd and Sam Servati combined with one save for the shutout.
WOMEN’S LACROSSE
VASSAR 13, ST. LAWRENCE 11
Maddy Kretten led No. 6 Vassar (9-6) with four goals and Kateri Sanserviro added three in a Liberty League quarterfinal win over No. 3 St. Lawrence in Canton
Morgan Arakelian scored four goals for the Saints (9-7). Rachel Burke scored three goals and Jacqui Cloutier added two.
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