Reed Dempsey

Writer

After starting the season with a win on the road against Delaware, the Bison traveled to Emmitsburg, Md. on Feb. 17 for a matchup against the Mount St. Mary’s Mountaineers. Two late fourth-quarter goals helped the Mountaineers rally past the Orange and Blue for a 12-11 upset.

Todd Heritage ’14 opened the day’s scoring with a shot that found the back of the net just six seconds after the opening whistle. Over the next seven minutes, the Mountaineers responded with two goals of their own to take their first lead. Not to be outdone, the Bison quickly leveled the game at two with a Chase Bailey ’13 tally and restored their one-goal lead on a man-up advantage with just under three minutes left in the first quarter. The Mountaineers were able to work the ball down the field and add a goal of their own to tie the game at three as the first quarter came to a close.

As play resumed for the second quarter, the Bison were able to rekindle some of the offensive firepower seen in week one, going on a 4-1 run with goals from Sean Doyle ’16, Peter Burke ’14, Thomas Flibotte ’16 and Heritage. By the end of the second quarter, the Bison squad had limited the Mountaineers to just three shots while forcing three turnovers.

“We got good opportunities and limited our turnovers,” midfielder David Dickson ’15 said. “The offense looked solid.”

As play resumed for the second half, Mount St. Mary’s had a four-goal rally of their own, bringing the score to 8-7 in favor of the Mountaineers. Less than a minute later, Heritage tied the game with his third goal of the day. With time coming to a close in the third quarter, Mount St. Mary’s was able to take advantage of its fourth extra-man opportunity, to regain the lead for the third time.

The Mountaineers added a tally early in the fourth quarter to extend their lead to two goals. Over the next 10 minutes, the Orange and Blue utilized goals from Burke and Heritage to tie the game before Bailey found the back of the net on an unassisted tally to reinstate the Bison lead.

The Mountaineers tied the game with 1:35 left in the game. They then won the ensuing face-off, established the ball on offense and scored to bring the game to 12-11.

The Mountaineers again won the face-off and held the ball until Jackson Place ’14 forced a turnover, allowing the Bison to gain possession on the offensive half of the field with less than 30 seconds remaining. The Orange and Blue were unable to capitalize on their shots before time expired.

“We’ve already put the Mount St. Mary’s game behind us and we now know what it is going to take to win moving forward,” Dickson said.

The Bison look to rebound against the Bryant Bulldogs, who will visit campus Saturday at 1 p.m.