The Loyola University Maryland men’s lacrosse team found themselves in familiar territory Saturday afternoon in Holuba Hall, once again heading to overtime despite holding a late lead in regulation, similar to their season-opening loss against Virginia.
This time, No. 12 Loyola found a way to win their first game of the season, after junior Nikko Pontrello scored the game-winning goal just 19 seconds into overtime to squeak past No. 9 Penn State, 12-11.
A Pontrello goal with 12:10 remaining in regulation gave the Greyhounds (1-1 overall) an 11-7 lead. The Nittany Lions (1-1) stormed back with four consecutive goals, tying the game at 11-apiece on a goal by Erik Myers with 1:03 remaining.
Freshman Graham Savio won the faceoff to start overtime and Pontrello found the back of the net 19 seconds later to send the Hounds to victory.
The Greyhounds never trailed during the game, but the Nittany Lions were resilient, tying the game on four different occasions even before Myers’ goal sent the game to overtime.
Loyola got things started with a goal from sophomore Tyler Albrecht, assisted by senior Justin Ward. It was the first of three goals for Albrecht and the first of four assists by Ward.
Penn State knotted the score at 1-1 on a Kyle VanThof goal with 3:42 left in the first quarter, but the Hounds would end the period with two straight goals from senior Kevin Ryan and sophomore Jeff Chase, giving Loyola a 3-1 lead to wrap up a defensive first quarter.
Penn State’s Shane Sturgis brought the Lions right back, scoring two goals in less than a minute to knot the game at 3-apiece.
The Greyhounds shut out the Lions for the remainder of the first half. Myers and VanThof both tried to give Penn State its first lead of the afternoon, but both of their shots were off the mark.
Meanwhile, the Hounds reclaimed the lead on a goal by senior Brian Schultz with 7:41 left in the half. With 2:56 remaining, another Albrecht goal sent the Greyhounds into the half with a 5-3 lead.
The Greyhounds extended their lead in the first minute of the third quarter, as Pontrello would score the first of his three goals to give the Hounds a 6-3 lead.
However, Penn State would score three unanswered goals in under two minutes, tying the game for the third time. After Albrecht’s third goal of the day put Loyola back on top, VanThof again found the back of the net to tie the game, 7-7.
With a fourth tie, the Hounds finally seemed to pull away from the Lions after two more scores by Chase, and another from redshirt freshman Brian Sherlock, gave the Hounds a 10-7 lead heading into the final period. Pontrello’s goal in the fourth gave Loyola its largest lead at 11-7.
The Greyhounds’ greatest nightmare came true after Myers’ score with 63 seconds left in the game knotted the score for a fifth time. However, the Hounds won the ensuing faceoff and had a chance to avoid another overtime affair.
After calling a timeout with 27 seconds remaining, Ward received a pass from Pontrello and fired a shot with less than four seconds left, but the shot missed just wide as time expired in regulation.
Pontrello, Albrecht and Chase each recorded hat-tricks in the road victory. Senior Jack Runkel notched 12 saves, including five in the fourth quarter.
The Greyhounds return to Ridley Athletic Complex to face Towson University in their home-opener on Wednesday, Feb. 19, at 3 p.m.