Must-win games are usually regarded as clichés in sports.
Yet, if there was any matchup on the Quinnipiac men’s lacrosse schedule that needed to end in the ‘W’ column, a late-season bout with a playoff spot on the line was it.
Trailing Quinnipiac for the entire game, Wagner tied the score at 10 with 1:43 left in regulation. With 6.8 seconds remaining, Quinnipiac head coach Erik Fekete composed his squad by calling a timeout.
Then, with 1.8 seconds left on the clock, Dylan Webster deposited the game-winner, clinching a Bobcats playoff berth in the form of an 11-10 win.
“We figured we had two timeouts to burn; let’s use one now,” Fekete said. “Fortunately it worked out for us, Dylan was in the right place. To win with 1.8 seconds, we’re certainly not happy with the way we played today, but getting in the playoffs is the number-one objective.”
“I was pretty nervous going into it after the timeout,” Webster said. “I just slid open and bared the ball.”
The victory secures a Quinnipiac playoff spot for the third straight year. In 2012, the Bobcats fell to Bryant in the semifinals. 2011 saw Quinnipiac lose in the NEC Championship Game to Mount St. Mary’s.
“A win’s a win,” Fekete said. “We got to always look forward to this time of year; can’t look back.”
The Bobcats honored seven seniors before the game. Fittingly, senior Basil Kostaras recorded two goals, his 16th and 17th of the year.
Quinnipiac jumped out to an early lead off the opening faceoff, potting five goals in the initial 5:01. Tom Gilligan put the Bobcats on the board first, while Michael Sagl followed with three goals of his own.
After Quinnipiac tallied another score for the six-goal lead, Wagner began to chip away, when Billy Battaglia found twine early in the second. The Seahawks would add three more goals opposed to the Bobcats’ one by the end of the first half.
Quinnipiac and Wagner traded goals in the third quarter, each notching two apiece. In the final stanza, however, the Seahawks outscored the Bobcats 4-1 through 13:17 to knot the game at 10. Webster then added the game-winner.
“We just got to go keep playing,” Webster said. “It’s a game of momentum; we got up to quick start, they caught up, and we’re just lucky we finished on top.”
Quinnipiac will make the trip to Robert Morris next weekend in its final game of the regular season.
“It’s good to be in the playoffs,” Fekete said. “We’re going to give the guys a couple days off. We got to stay fresh and rested this time of year.”
