In one of the most dramatic games of the season, Delbarton lacrosse pulled off a stunning 12–11 double-overtime upset over powerhouse St. Anthony's on Tuesday afternoon at Cocoziello Field. Green Wave, who now improve to 4–1 on the season, look to ride this wave of success as they prepare for another tough opponent Saturday against Seton Hall Prep.
St. Anthony's, known for its fast-paced, high-powered offense, stormed out to a 4–1 lead after the first quarter. Brandon Fodor scored Delbarton's lone goal in the quarter, but his ability to dodge and put pressure on the defense was evident, and would be a focal point the rest of the game. Delbarton showed grit, despite being down 6-1, chipping away at the deficit to trail 7-4 at halftime, thanks to Fodor's second goal of the game and two goals by Chase Houser who would score a beauty from a very tough angle. St. Anthony's would strike back immediately to give them a 3 goal lead going into the halftime break.
The Green Wave regrouped at the half, staging a six-goal explosion in the third quarter to seize momentum. Peter Falk opened the second half with goal, cutting the lead to 7-5, and Andrew Johnson followed up with a snipe off a great pass from House behind the net. At 7-6, Gavin Romweber scored his first of the game, bouncing a shot passed the goalie for the 7-7 tie, shifting all the momentum momentarily to the Green Wave. However, Jacob Johnston would give the Friars the lead back 8-7, netting one of his game-high 5 goals. Brandon Fodor would answer back once more, cutting through three defenders to score his third goal, tying the game 8-8 late in the quarter. Delbarton would take back the lead, when Will Pedicano picked up the ball off the faceoff, raced down the field scoring his first of the game, giving the Green Wave a 9-8 lead after 3 quarters.
St. Anthony's would score two straight goals to open the 4th, with Johnston scoring again, and Sean Ronayne giving the Friars the 10-9 lead. Phil Minardo would cleanly win the ensuing faceoff, race down the field, finding an open Peter Falk who immediately scored to tie the game at 10-10. With only 3:50 left in the game, Alex Schobel would give Delbarton an 11-10 lead. Delbarton would go a man up for almost the rest of regulation, but after the penalty expired and a timeout, St. Anthony's would tie the game with just 1 second left on the clock, sending the game to overtime 11-11, thanks to Johnston's 5th goal of the contest.
Neither team would score in the first overtime, leading to an intense double overtime period. Just over a minute in, Delbarton would start with possession off a timeout, and coming around to receive a pass in a very familiar spot from his first goal of the game, Alex Schobel sent a shot high and to the right of the goalie, scoring the game winning goal, helping Delbarton earn the upset 12-11 victory.
Earning the victory in net was Tanner Shimko who made 9 saves. The faceoff X was another bright spot for Delbarton, with the duo of Phil Minardo and Christian Troczynski winning a total of 20 out of 25 faceoffs, helping Delbarton dominate time of posession.
Up next, Delbarton will look to build on this momentum as they host Seton Hall Prep on Saturday.
