MLAX: Colonels take defending champs to overtime

Senior+Jacob+Kadis+tried+to+veer+away+from+an+Eastern+defender+in+the+Colonels+10-9+overtime+loss+against+the+Eagles+on+Wednesday+afternoon.

Kyle Kraemer

Senior Jacob Kadis tried to veer away from an Eastern defender in the Colonels 10-9 overtime loss against the Eagles on Wednesday afternoon.

EDWARDSVILLE, Pa. — Wilkes took on the Eastern University Eagles Wednesday night at Schmidt Stadium. The Eagles won 10-9 in overtime.

Wednesday’s game started out relatively fast paced with a lot of saves from Wilkes junior Carter Whittemore early on.

Senior JT Weitzel put the Colonels on the board with 12:53 remaining in the first quarter, making it 1-0 and giving them the lead.

Minutes later, sophomore Nico Lorenzo scored increasing the Colonels lead to two.

Freshman Eric Ormsby scored two goals in the first quarter with assists from John Wink and Ethan Weaver to give Wilkes University a four-point lead.

The first quarter ended with the score and shots on goal favoring the Colonels. They had six shots on goal while the Eagles had five.

The second quarter started and there was still a lot of momentum going for the Colonels.  

There was a goal from Wink assisted by Weaver as well as a goal from freshman Alex Myers within the first two minutes of the quarter which increased the Colonels lead to six.

Eastern’s Mark Buannic was able to tally two goals minutes later putting the Eagles on the board and making it 6-2.

Myers got his second goal of the game for the Colonels with an assist from Wink re-gaining their four- point lead.

“It felt great to help contribute to the team by scoring two goals against the defending conference champion,” Myers said.

Eastern had a lot of momentum going as the quarter began to wind down with Johnson, Mackey and Fanelli all tallying goals in the second quarter making it 7-5.

The second quarter ended with the Eagles trailing by two points.

Within the first minutes of the third quarter, junior Connor Daly scored for the Colonels with an assist from Weaver making it 8-5.

Eastern’s Fanelli scored his second goal of the game making it 8-6. Emig also scored for the Eagles with an assist from Johnson putting them within one point of the Colonels.

Second later, Eastern Durning scored and tied the game at eight.

Time was winding down in the third quarter, but Eastern’s Mackey was able to score giving the Eagles the lead 9-8.

Ormsby answered right back with his third goal of the game with an assist from Weaver tying the game once again.

“It felt like another game. I just happened to finish a few,” said Ormsby on his three goals. “I couldn’t have done it without our system and everyone else on the field.”

The third quarter ended with the score tied at nine, but the shots on goal now favored Eastern. The Eagles had nine shots on goal while the Colonels had three.

Before the fourth quarter began, Wilkes head coach Curtis Jaques reminded his players of their success thus far in the game and asked them to keep things the same.

“Nothing changes, what has been working for us we’ll continue to do,” Jaques said.

Both teams had a lot of momentum in the fourth quarter, but Colonels junior Carter Whittemore and Eagles senior Brett McDonald did a great job of defending their nets.Whittemore reached 400 career saves during the game.

Due to crucial saves from Whittemore and McDonald, the score remained tied at the end of the quarter.

The tied game prompted overtime. Eastern’s Buannic was able to score his third goal in overtime breaking the tie and giving the Eagles the win 10-9.

“The biggest challenge in Wednesday’s game was when Eastern switched to the zone on defense because we had to try and figure out how to beat it,” Myers said reflecting on the game.

“The main focus for our next game and the remainder of our games is to just work your hardest day in and day out,” said Ormsby looking ahead to Saturday’s MAC Freedom matchup against Delaware Valley. “If we want the outcomes we are looking for, we need to work for them.”