ALBION, Mich. — The Albion men's lacrosse team authored a dramatic comeback and walk-off finish, erasing a four-goal fourth-quarter deficit to defeat Adrian, 13-12, in overtime at Alumni Field on Saturday afternoon. The win moves the Britons to 8-5 overall and 2-1 in MIAA play.
Trailing 12-8 with 9:03 remaining, the Britons rattled off five unanswered goals, capped by Luke Schuemann's game-winner with 32 seconds left in overtime.
Albion answered Adrian's early strike and held a 2-1 edge after the first quarter, with Joey Pipesh scoring twice, once off a feed from Cal Stearns and once off a feed from Schuemann.
The Britons took control in the second quarter, opening on a 4-1 run as Stearns, Pipesh, and Schuemann (2) pushed the lead to 7-4 heading into the final minutes of the half.
After Adrian surged ahead in the second half, Albion's offense caught fire late in the fourth. Schuemann started the rally with a goal off a Pipesh assist, then added another unassisted strike to make it 12-10. Logan Bride finished a Schuemann feed to cut it to one, and Pipesh buried the equalizer with 2:40 left in regulation.
In overtime, Albion's defense delivered a critical stop before TJ Antonino found Schuemann on the crease for the golden goal and the 13-12 victory.
Schuemann led the way with six goals and three assists, while Pipesh totaled four goals and two assists, and Stearns added two goals and two assists. Bride chipped in a key fourth-quarter goal. As a team, Albion outshot Adrian 56-49, held a 40-28 advantage in shots on goal, and won the ground-ball battle 34-30 while going 26-for-31 on clears.
In goal, the Britons used a three-man rotation as Luke Szymanski, Quinn Armstrong, and Caleb Howell combined for 16 saves. Szymanski made nine stops over 35:41, Armstrong earned the win with three saves in 14:29, and Howell added four saves in 13:18 of action to help Albion close out the overtime thriller.
Up Next: The Britons hit the road for another MIAA matchup at Hope on Wednesday, April 15 at 7 p.m. in Holland, Mich.
