April 11, 2009
Red Devils Upend #19 Shoremen, 9-8, in 3 OT's
Cohen Makes Career-High 24 Saves in Loss

CHESTERTOWN, MD -- Ted Sirvaitis scored his fourth goal of the day with 1:24 remaining in the third overtime as visiting Dickinson College rallied from a three-goal fourth-quarter deficit to upset 19th-ranked host Washington College, 9-8, in a Centennial Conference men's lacrosse game this afternoon on Kibler Field at Roy Kirby, Jr. Stadium. The Red Devils improved to 6-6 overall and 2-4 in Centennial Conference play with the win, while the Shoremen, who got a career-high 24 saves from senior goalie Gordon Cohen (New Canaan, CT/New Canaan) in the loss, fell to 9-4 and 4-3.

The Shoremen got on the board first when sophomore attackman Shane Kaski (Richmond, VA/Midlothian) found senior midfielder Matt Moreton (Darnestown, MD/Northwest) for a goal with 9:54 left in the first quarter. The Red Devils answered by finishing the quarter with a four-goal run, including three in the final 2:30, to race ahead, 4-1. Sirvaitis started the run with a goal with 8:01 left. Sam Greenburg then found Phil Caputo for a goal with 2:30 remaining and Caputo fed Derek Still for an extra-man goal with 1:28 on the clock. Bennett Albertson finished the run with a goal with 58 seconds to go in the period.

Washington rallied in the second quarter, starting with a Kaski goal with 12:11 left to cut the lead to 4-2. Moreton found sophomore midfielder Doug Herdegen (Baltimore, MD/Archbishop Curley) for an extra-man goal with 5:11 on the clock to trim the margin to one goal and freshman attackman Billy Stafford (Hereford, MD/Hereford) knotted the game at 4-4 with a goal off an assist from senior attackman Jimmy Kielek (Baltimore, MD/Archbishop Curley) with 46 seconds remaining before the intermission.

The Shoremen kept control of the game in third quarter despite the Red Devils notching the first goal of the period on a shot by Tim Healey with 10:47 left to regain the lead for Dickinson at 5-4. Washington junior attackman Brendan O'Leary (Annapolis, MD/Broadneck) scored with 7:37 to play in the quarter, senior midfielder Casey O'Connor (Crownsville, MD/Archbishop Spalding) scored with 6:28 remaining, and Kaski scored with 4:15 left to give Washington a 7-5 lead after three periods.

Washington took its biggest lead of the game with 8:53 left in regulation as Kielek fed Moreton for a goal to make it 8-5. The Red Devils then mounted a furious rally, out-shooting the Shoremen, 13-0, over the rest of regulation. Sirvaitis opened the comeback with a goal with 8:17 left and scored again with 6:58 to play off an assist from Chris Dodson to cut the lead to one goal. Dickinson tied the game when Dodson found Greenburg for a goal with 4:59 left in regulation. The Red Devils had several chances to win the game in regulation, but Cohen made four of his 11 fourth-quarter saves in the final five minutes to force the first overtime.

The first two shots of the first overtime came from the Shoremen, but Dickinson goalkeeper Russell Matthews saved both. The Red Devils then got off three shots in the final 61 seconds of the period, but failed to score as Cohen saved a shot by Still with 12 seconds left as the game headed into a second extra session.

Greenburg took the first shot of the second overtime with 2:39 left, but Cohen made a save. Casey Finkelstein took the Red Devils' other shot of the period, but it went wide with 37 seconds left. Following a good clear by the Shoremen, O'Connor got off the final shot of the second overtime, but Matthews made the save with nine seconds to play to send the game into the third overtime.

The Shoremen won the face-off to start the third overtime, but the teams traded turnovers until Washington's third turnover of the period, forced by Chris Breslin and recovered by Gary Mercadante, led to a quick Dickinson clear and the game-winner by Sirvaitis, who rolled past a defender five yards in front of the cage and turned and fired the ball into the net.

Sirvaitis led all scorers with his four goals. Greenburg added a goal and an assist for the Red Devils, while Dodson finished with a pair of assists. Matthews made 14 saves in goal for Dickinson.

Moreton and Kaski each had two goals and one assist for Washington, while Kielek recorded a pair of assists. Cohen added six ground balls to go along with his 24 saves, while senior midfielder Thayer Damm (Huntingdon Valley, PA/LaSalle) scooped up a game-high 10 ground balls while going 15-for-21 on face-offs.

Dickinson held a 48-33 advantage in shots in the game, including a 21-8 edge in the fourth quarter and three overtime periods. The Red Devils also turned the ball over 10 fewer times than the Shoremen (14 to 24).

The Shoremen return to action one week from today with a 7:00 p.m. Centennial Conference game at Franklin & Marshall.

BOX SCORE