from umterps.com
The Maryland men’s lacrosse team won a thriller vs. sixth-seeded Towson in the NCAA First Round Sunday, overcoming a four-goal deficit before senior Louis Dubick buried the game-winner in overtime to top the Tigers, 14-13.
Jared Bernhardt came through with a clutch goal to keep the Terps alive, netting his second goal of the day with just three seconds left in regulation before Dubick’s OT heroics.
The Terps (12-4) are headed to their sixth straight NCAA Quarterfinal and will face the third-seeded Virginia Cavaliers at James M. Short Stadium in Hempstead, New York next Saturday, May 18.
Maryland’s OT win in the first round marks the first time the Terps have won an NCAA tournament game in overtime since taking down Brown 15-14 in the 2016 semifinals. It was the first overtime contest between Maryland and Towson in 34 meetings.
Notching four points on the day and his 75th on the season, Logan Wisnauskas is now Maryland’s all-time leader in points as a sophomore, passing Jack Heim’s mark of 74, set in 1965.
Senior goaltender Danny Dolan finished the day with 15 saves, his second-consecutive 15+ save game, while Bubba Fairman and Wisnauskas led the Terps in scoring with three goals apiece.
Maryland got off to a quick start, jumping to a 3-1 lead after goals from Anthony DeMaio, Kyle Long, and Matt Rahill, who buried the second goal of his career halfway through the first quarter.
After Rahill’s strike, Towson (11-5) went on a six-goal run that carried into the second quarter. Brendan Sunday, who led the Tigers in goals (4) and points (5) on the day, scored Towson’s sixth-consecutive goal with five minutes to go in the second before Wisnauskas and Fairman cut the deficit to two goals heading into the half.
DeMaio notched his second goal of the game just a few minutes after the half to cut Towson’s lead to one, and after another Towson goal, Fairman and Dubick scored a couple highlight-reel goals to tie the game at eight. The Tigers closed out the third quarter with back-to-back goals to make it 10-8.
In the most pivotal quarter of the game, Wisnauskas, Bernhardt and Fairman combined for four straight goals in a four-minute span to grab the lead for the first time since the first quarter, but Towson answered and scored three straight of their own, taking the 13-12 lead with less than two minutes left in the game.
Bernhardt, who had been limited offensively for the opening three quarters of the game, came to life in the fourth. After scoring his first goal to give the Terps the lead earlier in the fourth, facing a one-goal deficit with Maryland’s season on the line, cut across the crease and ripped a low-to-low shot past Towson goaltender Tyler Canto after with just three seconds remaining in regulation to force overtime.
Dubick netted the game-winner with 2:21 remaining in the first overtime period off a Long assist. Long delivered the feed from behind the net and got his fourth assist of the day, a career-high for the freshman attackman.
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