ORANGEBURG, N.Y. American International College freshman Quinn Caeser (Dalton, Mass.) netted five goals, but men's lacrosse fell at Dominican College in non-conference action, 19-14.
With the loss AIC falls to 0-6 overall, while with the win Dominican improves to 3-4 on the season.
Trailing 14-8 heading into the final frame, the Chargers lived up to their name, striking for two quick goals including one 15 seconds into the fourth.
Dominican scored their second of the frame at the 12:46 mark, but AIC quickly responded as Caesar netted his third goal of the day 22 ticks later. The Jackets next took advantage of a man-up opportunity as junior Eric Overdahl (Milford, Mass.) found rookie teammate Colton Larkin (Norwalk, Conn.) for his fourth of the season. Junior Kevin Papineau (Westfield, Mass.) and Caesar each scored in the 50th minute to complete a four-goal stretch for the Yellow Jackets and cut the deficit to four, 16:12 with 10:24 to play.
The game went 4:33 without a goal before Dominican's Ryan Wiberly broke the silence at the 5:51 mark. American International then got goals 22 seconds apart from sophomore Jack McIntyre (East Longmeadow, Mass.) and Caesar to bring the game within three, 17-14, with 4:04 left in regulation.
Despite the valiant comeback effort, the Chargers benefited from a man-up advantage late and scored again with under 20 seconds left to outlast AIC.
The game got to a slow start with just six combined goals in the opening quarter. Dominican scored the contest's first goal 3:16 into the game, but Overdahl and freshman Lucas Bombardier (Pittsfield, Vt.) recorded back-to-back goals to take a 2-1 lead.
Dominican then went streaking, rattling off six straight goals to go up 7-2 early in the second stanza. Caesar netted his first of the day at the 10:36 mark of the second followed by unanswered goals from McIntyre and Papineau to cut the lead back to two, 7-5. The Chargers closed the half with a three-goal run of their own to take a 10-5 edge into the intermission.
Out of the break, AIC freshman Andrew Brown (Swanzey, N.H.) quickly found Papineau for a goal 51 seconds in. Larkin found the back of the net just 1:03 later to bring the game back within three, 10-7. Dominican regrouped and went on a 4-1 run to end the frame and head into the fourth up, 15-8.
Caesar finished with five goals, while Papineau chipped in three. AIC freshman goalie Tariq Qureshi (Elmont, N.Y.) made 18 saves as Dominican outshot the Jackets, 51-42.
The Yellow Jackets return home Saturday, Mar. 19 when Saint Anselm College visits Abdow Field for a Northeast-10 clash. Game-time with the Hawks is slated for 4 p.m.
