VMI Upsets Providence, 9-8, in 2008 MAAC Men's Lacrosse Semifinal
MAAC Sports
Loudonville, N.Y. ? Fourth-seeded Virginia Military Institute defeated top-seeded Providence College with a 9-8 overtime victory in the first semifinal game of the 2008 MAAC Men’s Lacrosse Championship at the Siena Field on the campus of Siena College.
The Friars got on the board first as Mark Dillon netted a shot from Jackson Fallon just 18 seconds into the first quarter. Bennett Murphy netted his first shot of the day at the 10:25 mark to give Providence a 2-0 lead. The Keydets then got their offensive start at the 5:52 mark as Offensive Player of the Year Kevin Hill to make it a one-goal game. Murphy closed out the quarter with an over-the-shoulder shot, aided by Devin McBride, to make it a 3-1 game in favor of the Friars.
Despite numerous shot attempts from both programs, the game remained locked at 3-1 for the first seven minutes in the second quarter. The juggernaut was finally broken by Providence’s Bobby Labadini as he found the back of the net at the 7:24 mark, with help from Henry Pynchon. Robert Lamontagne then scored at the 6:47 mark to give the Friars a 5-1 lead. VMI’s Tim Moran scored his first goal of the day after a pass from Hill with 2:06 remaining to cut Providence’s lead to three (5-2). The Keydets got on the board again thanks to Hill with 1:10 left in the stanza to make it a 5-3 game going into halftime.
The Friars pulled ahead, 7-3, with back-to-back goals by Fallon and Colin Tigh to kick off the third quarter. The Keydets would not stay down for long, however, as Hill scored his third goal of the day with 10:02 remaining to make it 7-4. VMI then closed within two once again (7-5) at Brett Leonard scored off a groundball with 7:54 left in the stanza. With 5:32 left in the third, VMI made it a one-point game (7-6) as Matt Piazza scored off a pass from Hill.
In the fourth quarter, VMI would tie it up (7-7) as Hill netted his fourth goal of the day at the 8:24 mark. The Keydets would take their first lead of the game as Hill scored his fifth goal of the contest and 28th of the season with 2:07 remaining in the game to put his squad up, 8-7. Providence then tied it up with 1:45 left in the game (8-8) as McBride reached the back of the net, aided by Lamontagne, to force the game into overtime.
The stalemate would be broken by the Keydets with 3:30 seconds left in the extra stanza, thanks Hill’s sixth goal of game.
Sean McCoy registered three stops for VMI, while Robert Bryan made five saves for Providence.
VMI will play the winner of today’s second semifinal game between #2 Canisius College and #3 Manhattan College in the championship game on Sunday, May 4, at 1:00 p.m.
Recap:
VMI (6-9, 4-4 MAAC) 1 2 3 2 1 -- 9
Providence (7-8, 7-1 MAAC) 3 2 2 1 0 -- 8
Scoring Summary (Goals-Assists):
Providence ? Bennett Murphy (2-1), Mark Dillon (1-0), Bobby Labadini (1-0), Robert Lamontagne (1-1), Colin Tigh (1-0), Jackson Fallon (1-2), Devin McBride (1-1), Henry Pynchon (0-1)
VMI ? Kevin Hill (6-2), Tim Moran (1-0), Brett Leonard (1-0), Matt Piazza (1-0)
Saves: Providence ? Robert Bryan 5; VMI ? Sean McCoy 3
Shots: VMI 38, Providence 23
Shots on Goal: VMI 14, Providence 11
Groundballs: VMI 31, Providence 24
Turnovers: Providence 14, VMI 9