POUGHKEEPSIE, NY – Senior midfielder Connor Deehan scored at 3:30 of overtime to lift Vassar College to a dramatic 16-15 victory against Skidmore College in Liberty League men's lacrosse action on Saturday at Gordon Field. The Brewers are now 6-4 overall and nab their first league victory to move to 1-2. The visiting Thoroughbreds slip to 5-4 and 0-2 in the Liberty League.

It was a wild game, one that saw seven ties occur, including three in the final quarter alone. After the first 45 minutes of action, Vassar entered the final 15 minutes with a 10-9 advantage and capitalized quickly as senior midfielder Logan Hyde converted a pass from junior attack Riley Olds to open the two-goal lead (11-9) at 13:37.

The advantage was short-lived as Skidmore scored less than 30 seconds later as sophomore midfielder Charlie McFadden fired in a pass from rookie middie Jimmy Gibbons, followed by an unassisted tally from freshman midfielder Alex Carpenter to make it an 11-11 game at 10:57. The Brewers answered seconds after the Skidmore tally as sophomore face-off specialist Thomas Cameron scooped up the ball off his own win, darted down the middle and fired the shot in for the go-ahead score.

Sophomore midfielder Dan Negron answered at the  8:05 mark, firing in a pass from classmate Troy Santise as Vassar built a 13-11 advantage. Once again, the Thoroughbreds battled back as McFadden scored, but Negron answered with an unassisted tally to push the margin back to two (14-12) with 4:38 to play.
Skidmore saw McFadden score soon after the Vassar tally, then assist on the game-tying goal as sophomore midfielder Brandon Reilly scored with 1:29 to play in the contest. The visitors gained the lead on the next possession as sophomore attack Charlie Kessler fired one in past Vassar keeper Jack Bagin, but with 35 seconds to play, sophomore Ian Zumpano picked up the rebound and sent a high shot sailing in over the shoulder to make it 15-all.

The Brewers had a chance to win it in regulation, but a late penalty call against Skidmore saw time expire, sending the game into overtime with the Brewers on a 2-minute man-up advantage. Gaining possession to start the extra session, Vassar swarmed inside the Thoroughbreds zone. Zumpano fired in a shot that clipped off the goalie as the Brewers retained the ball.

Hyde caught the pass in the high slot, sending a pass to his left where Deehan waited as he sent a bullet shot in for the game-winner.

Vassar was paced offensively by Hyde, who posted three goals and a helper on the day. He also had a ground ball and a caused turnover. Negron added two goals with two assists, while Zumpano had two tallies and an assist. Sophomore middie Ryan Metz added two goals, while Olds and rookie midfielder Van Ledermann each had a goal and an assist. Junior long stick midfielder Dillon Dierman recorded four ground balls with two caused turnovers, while sophomore defender Solomon Hess also had four ground balls and two caused turnovers – in addition to a goal scored. Cameron recorded four ground balls, while also posting a 13-of-20 margin in the face-off circle. In goal, Bagin was outstanding, stopping 21 shots in 59:52 of action.

Skidmore saw McFadden lead all players with four goals and three assists to go along with a ground ball. Rookie midfielder Brian Gonsalves added three goals with an assist and a caused turnover, while Reilley had a goal and two assists. Freshman attack Jon Bouvier added two tallies and a helper, while freshman faceoff specialist Luke Curtin had a game-high six ground balls and went 10-of-20 in the faceoff circle. Rookie goalie Collin Kuester had a solid effort as well in 60:30 played, recording 16 saves on the afternoon.

Skidmore owned a 47-46 advantage in shots for the game, while also holding a 33-31 margin in ground balls. The Brewers went 18-of-33 on the faceoff, while Skidmore was 15-of-33. On the clear, Vassar was 25-of-29, while the Thoroughbreds went 19-of-22.

The Brewers return to action on next Saturday when they host Ithaca College on Gordon Field at 2pm. Skidmore is back to the field on Friday, hosting St. Lawrence at 7pm.