KINGS POINT, NY – Sophomore midfielder Dan Negron scored with 1:51 to play in overtime to led the Vassar men's lacrosse team to a 10-9 come-from-behind overtime victory at the United States Merchant Marine Academy on Wednesday evening. The victory moves the Brewers to 5-3 on the season, while the Mariners are now 3-3 overall.

Trailing by a 9-3 margin after three quarters of play, the Brewers rallied in the fourth, tying the game at 9-all after a six-goal onslaught. The homestanding Mariners advantage held until the 11:51 mark of the fourth quarter as Negron navigated around a defender, driving up the middle for Vassar's four score of the game. With 8:20 to play, Negron helped make it a four-goal game, feeding rookie attack Jack Rufa the ball, who converted for the score to make it a 9-5 game.

Vassar further closed the gap at the 5:12 mark of the fourth as Negron capitalized once again. Collecting the ball, he drove toward the right post, firing a low shot at the feet in past the Mariners goalie. Following a timeout, the Brewers came out on fire once again, cutting the deficit to two (9-7) as senior midfielder Logan Hyde hit a speeding Ian Zumpano down the middle.

Off the ensuing face-off win, the Brewers drove into the offensive zone once again, Negron earned the assist, crossing the ball from the middle to the near side as Hyde sent a rocketed shot past the goalie to make it a one-goal (9-8) game with 3:50 to go in the game.

With just one second remaining in regulation, Zumpano caught a rocketed pass at the left post from junior midfielder James Nicholas, burying it above the goalie's shoulder to tie the game at 9-all and send it into overtime.

In the OT session, the Brewers regained possession as the ball found its way to Negron once more. Holding the ball behind the Mariners goal, Rufa sent the pass out 10-yards to Negron. With a slight shift around a defender, the sophomore middie fired the ball on goal as it took a front bounce and caromed in for the game-winner.   

Vassar opened the game's scoring off an outstanding play at the midfield. Catching a pass at the start of a clear in the Mariners zone, Nicholas completed the clear, sending a short pass to a running Tommy Van Pelt. The senior midfielder sent a bullet shot in from 20-yards out for the 1-0 lead at 13:39.

The Brewers made it a 2-0 lead two minutes later as sophomore midfielder connected off an outstanding initial pass from senior midfielder Connor Deehan. Holding possession on the near side, Deehan looked for an open man, finding Negron on the far side. Ducking in toward goal, Negron spun around a defender and dropped a shot in for the two-goal lead at 11:03.

The Mariners got on the board late in the stanza as senior attack Matt Groom dropped his shoulder around a defender and flipped a pass to a speeding Carter Hall. The junior midfielder sent a quick shot in past Vassar goalie Drew Quinn with 4:38 remaining.

Merchant Marine pulled the game even with 2:27 remaining as sophomore attack Sam Winkler carried the ball from the near side into the middle. Cutting inside, he sent a bulleted shot straight down the lane from 10-yards out for the equalizer.

The home team then pulled ahead with 1:14 on the clock as rookie attack Michael Emerick came around the backside of the net. Battling a Vassar defender, he turned and fired a low shot that got past quick for the 3-2 lead. The Mariners then took advantage before the opening quarter expired as senior middie Jack Browne sent an off-balanced pass ahead to senior Zach Hasbrouck, who spun low in the middle around the Brewers defense for the 4-2 margin with two seconds in the frame.

Second quarter action got off to a quick start for King's Point as a bang-bang passing effort saw Emerick bury a Hall feed at 14:11 for the 5-2 advantage. Emerick netted his third of the game soon after, converting a pass from freshman attack Jack Collins on the man-up for a four-goal (6-2) lead at 12:25.

Freshman attack Shane O'Hara netted the Brewers third goal at 8:53 of the second stanza. Collecting the ball from junior attack Riley Olds at the near side, O'Hara faked around a King's Point defender, doubled back and dropped in a high shot over the shoulder of Mariners goalie Samuel Stephenson to cut it to a 6-3 lead for the home team.

The homestanding Mariners added three tallies to their total in the third quarter, holding the 9-3 lead heading into Vassar's big fourth quarter.

In addition to Negron, who came off the bench to record a game-high four goals with two assists, the Brewers also saw Zumpano fire in two goals on a team-high eight shots (five on goal). He also added two ground balls. Hyde added a goal and an assist with a ground ball, while O'Hara, Van Pelt and Rufa each posted a goal. In the face-off circle, sophomore Thomas Cameron was outstanding, going 12-for-16 with a game-best six ground balls. Nicholas added an assist, also posting a game-high six ground balls while notching three caused turnovers.

The Mariners saw Emerick lead with three goals on a game-high 10 shots (five on goal). Hall had two tallies and a helper, while Mirack and Winkler each added a goal. Mirack also posted a team-high five ground balls, while Hasbrouck notched two goals with three ground balls and three caused turnovers.

In goal, Vassar sophomore Danny Goldman earned his first collegiate victory, recording four saves in the final 32:09 of action in the game. Rookie Drew Quinn got the start, recording two saves in 30 minutes of action. The Mariners saw Stephenson shoulder the loss, stopping 10 shots on the night.

The Brewers, who owned a 45-33 advantage in shots for the contest, also owned a 20-15 margin in shots on goal. Vassar had a 37-22 edge in ground balls and a 15-6 margin in the face-off circle. The visitors also boasted a 21-of-24 mark on the clear for the contest, while the Mariners were 22-of-27 overall.

Vassar returns to the field on Saturday when it faces Liberty League-rival, RIT on the road at 1pm. Merchant Marine hosts Coast Guard, also on Saturday, at 12pm.