POTSDAM, NY (April 8, 2017) – Freshman Michael Mullen tallied with four seconds remaining to break a 9-9 tie, giving the Vassar College men's lacrosse team a huge 10-9 road Liberty League win over Clarkson University in action from Hantz Turf Field Saturday afternoon. The 10-9 score line was a repeat of last year's game in Poughkeepsie, when Noah Parson won it for Vassar with 1:11 left to play.
 
The win for Vassar (9-2, 2-1 Liberty League) meant a ton for many reasons, as the victory marked a new program record for wins in a single season with nine. More importantly though, the triumph helped VC keep pace in the ultra-competitive Liberty League, moving into a tie for second place in the conference at 2-1. VC has now won three straight contests, and five of its last six.
 
On Saturday, the game started out strong for the Brewers, as VC scored the opening three goals of the game. Senior Sam Houston-Read buried an unassisted tally just 30 seconds into the game to lift the lid on the scoring, while fellow senior Chris Billups doubled the Brewer lead on a pass from James Thomas at the 10:59 mark of the first quarter. The three-goal spurt was finished by another senior, as Brandon DeStasio buried an unassisted tally at 8:19.
 
Clarkson would score the next two goals, pulling to within one at 3-2 after Shane Kilday chalked up his sixth and seventh scores of the year. VC answered with two of its own though, as Billups caught a pass from sophomore Drew Adams and finished, while DeStasio again scored without help to make the score 5-2 mid-way through the second quarter.
 
The hosts wouldn't go away, finishing the opening half with a man-down goal by Marc Simmons at 3:28 and an EMO score from Ryan DaRin to send the game into intermission at 5-4. The shot totals at the break were close, with VC holding a slim 20-18 edge, while each team had six turnovers.
 
The third quarter started much like the first, as Vassar came out of the gates quick, as Mullen potted his first of the day and DeStasio earned his hat trick to make the score 7-4. Another pair of goals from the Golden Knights (6-3, 1-2 Liberty) made the score 7-6 with 14 minutes to play in regulation, before Thomas gave VC some breathing room with a tally of his own off of an assist from senior Liam Moriarty.
 
The teams exchanged goals, but with 2:22 left in regulation Clarkson pulled to within one at 9-8 on another score from DaRin. Exactly two minutes later after a Vassar penalty, Ryan St. Croix potted a man-up goal to pull even at nine apiece with 22 seconds remaining.
 
After the goal, freshman Matthew Lowery won the faceoff and head coach Marc Graham quickly called a timeout with 14 ticks left on the clock. After the timeout, the Brewers ran a play to set up the freshman sniper, and he buried the shot off of an assist from Moriarty to give the Brewers the win in dramatic fashion.
"Our seniors set a goal four years ago of helping to lead this program to the Liberty League playoffs, and this team adopted that goal in the fall," said Graham. "It is a pleasure to work together with all of our guys and coaches on a daily basis as we try to achieve this goal."
 
The Brewers defense was stout on the day, spearheaded by the amazing game from senior defender Eric Prezioso, who finished with four caused turnovers and five ground balls. Sophomore Matt Boyd made 13 saves in cage for VC to earn the win, while Steven Mages also had two loose ball pickups and a caused turnover.
 
The defensive effort helped fuel the offense, which was paced by the three goals apiece from Billups and DeStasio. In addition to the game-winner, Mullen found nylon twice and assisted on another score, while Thomas added two points. Freshman face-off specialist picked up four ground balls as well for VC, going 8-for-20 on the day.
 
St. Croix paced the Golden Knights with four points on two goals and two assists, and Kilday also registered a team-best three goals. Ryan Gabriel won 14 of the 23 faceoffs he took on Saturday, and Nick Strandholm made 15 stops in net for CU. The Golden Knights edged VC in shots, 42-36, though Vassar put 25 on cage compared to just the 23 from CU.
 
The Brewers will get a week off before hosting No. 9 St. Lawrence University (9-1, 2-1 Liberty) at home next Saturday at 1 p.m. in Liberty League action.