The Oswego State men's lacrosse team erased three separate four-goal deficits to outlast Morrisville State College 10-8 in three overtimes on Monday evening at Laker Turf Stadium. A Jarrod Wilkom unassisted goal with 1:11 remaining in the third overtime was the difference and helped the Lakers get back to .500 on the year at 2-2. The Mustangs drop to 0-2 on the 2017 campaign.
Oswego scored six of the contest's last seven goals to stun Morrisville and eliminate an 8-4 Mustang lead. That stretch began with 1:45 left in the third period, as Ryan Jelen scored his second of the game to pull the Lakers to within three at 8-5. A little less than three minutes into the final period in regulation, Caleb Alford earned his second score of the game on a man-up opportunity to cut the Morrisville advantage to 8-6.
Freshman Kyle Bacon sandwiched a Morrisville goal with two of his own, both inside of five minutes remaining in regulation, to put Oswego down one at 9-8. Alford had the assist on Bacon's second tally, which came with 2:14 on the clock in the fourth.
After Morrisville regained the lead, Oswego capitalized on a late Mustang slashing penalty and turnover. Up a player with 20 seconds left, both teams alternated calling timeouts. Oswego's proved to be more fruitful, as the Lakers ran a play that finished with Zach Anderson finding Ryan Jelen who bounced a shot into the turf and beat the goalie high under the crossbar with 8.3 seconds remaining, forcing overtime.
Neither team was able to score in the first two overtime periods, but Wilkom's goal – his sixth of the year – handed Oswego its second triumph of the year.
Jelen finished with four goals while Bacon and Alford each had two. Tim Schof and Wilkom rounded out the scoring with one goal apiece. Assisting on goals were Anderson with two while Alford and Tyler Nason each had one.
Freshman Harrison Levy earned his first-career start in the cage for Oswego and made 11 saves to aid in the comeback. He also had a team-best nine ground balls and tied for a team-best with two caused turnovers. Also with two caused turnovers were Teddy Phillips and John Petrelli.
As a team, Oswego dominated several categories, including shots on-goal (33-20), ground balls (44-28) and faceoffs (17-7). Chase Izyk (10-for-14) and Kyle O'Connor (7-for-10) were solid at the X, combining to go 17-for-24 on faceoff chances. Aiding in the ground ball effort with Levy were Wilkom with seven, O'Connor with five and the trio of Phillips, Izyk and Tim Garrett each with four.
Oswego's next scheduled contest is 7 p.m. on Wednesday at Kean University in Union, N.J.
