Men's Lacrosse falls in overtime thriller at Barton

Wilson, N.C. – The Catawba College Men's Lacrosse team was edged out by the Barton Bulldogs in a hard-fought game at Truist Stadium on Saturday, falling 11-10 in overtime as the Catawba Indians drop to 3-2 on the season. 

TEAM STATS 

- Catawba outshot Barton 43-42, though Barton put more efforts on target, 16-13 

- Catawba won the battle in the circle, with 13 faceoff wins against 11 for Barton 

- Barton forced more turnovers, 21-15, and recovered more ground balls, 32-27 

- In goal, Bulldogs goalie Alex Stewart earned his first win to move to 1-2 on the season after producing 12 saves over 62:12. For Catawba, James Crighton fell to 3-2 on the year, with 16 saves in 63:23  

INDIVIDUAL LEADERS 

 - Gabriel Barker and Bakari Neelyled Catawba offensively with two goals each. Six Catawba players would also tally a goal apiece in a balanced effort 

- Hunter Clarke, Jordan Dash, and Peyton Turner each tallied an assist 

- Neely, Barker, and Jackson Braswell all notched three shots on target  

- Kyle Chessock recovered a game-high six ground balls, with Crighton, Blake Reese, and Frank Cetrone each collecting three 

- Dylan Kesselring, Payton Leonard, Eli Horton, and Cetrone each caused a turnover  

- Reese won a game-high 13 faceoffs for Catawba  

HOW IT HAPPENED 

FIRST QUARTER 

- It took less than two minutes for both teams to be on the board, setting the game up to be a track meet from the beginning. Nic Lord scored for Barton just :33 seconds into the game, only for Leonard to score his first goal of the season for Catawba :41 seconds afterwards and make it 1-1 at the 13:46 mark  

- Garrett Simiand Barker struck quickly a few minutes later, as Simi gave Catawba its first lead of the game with 11:26 on the clock and Barker made it 3-1 just :42 seconds afterward 

- Barton answered with a quick 2-0 run of their own, first with Jimi Carter at the 7:24 mark and then through Tim Blanch :40 seconds later to knot the game at 3-3 

- But it would be Catawba who threw the next punch, countering with another 2-0 run of their own to head into the first intermission up by a score of 5-3. Turner found the back of the net with 2:13 to go after being picked out by Dash, and then Barker blasted his second effort past Stewart at the 1:10 mark  

SECOND QUARTER 

- The second quarter was a major change of pace from the first 15 minutes, as neither side could find an opening for much of the frame  

- It took just over 11 minutes for the breakthrough; Turner and Dash flipped roles for Catawba, with Turner playing the role of provider and setting up Dash for the goal to make it 6-3 Catawba  

- After being blanked for 21:45 minutes of action tracing back to Blanch's goal in the first quarter, Barton improbably broke through with :01 seconds left before the half and a man down, with Bryce Washington scoring on the razor's edge of halftime to make it 4-6   

THIRD QUARTER 

- Unfazed, momentum would swing back to Catawba in the third quarter. It took nearly six minutes, Neely's second goal at the 9:06 mark would open the scoring in the second half and spark a 3-0 Catawba run 

- Jack Butlerbecame the second Catawba player to score his first goal of the season on the afternoon, being picked out by Clarke with 6:31 left in the quarter. Braswell would strike at the 4:49 mark, as Catawba threatened to break the game wide open with a 9-4 lead 

- But the Bulldogs weren't done, finding their offensive form in the final minutes of the quarter to completely flip the momentum. Matt Calleri broke through the Catawba defense with 3:25 left, and then scored his second tally of the game with :53 seconds to go in the period  

- Incredibly, Matt Calleri would then assist his brother, Nick Calleri, just :04 seconds later. That 3-0 run over a 2:36 stretch brought Barton right back into the game, now only down 7-9 as the third quarter drew to a close  

FOURTH QUARTER 

- Catawba was able to respond through Neely, who bagged his second goal with 12:10 left in the game to put Catawba up three once again, 10-7 

- But the Bulldogs were finished, as they once again found a way back through the Calleri brothers. Matt Calleri completed his hat-trick shortly after Neely's strike, with 11:15 on the clock 

- Nick Calleri then completed his hat-trick over a 2:00 minute span, breaking through first at 3:19 and then at the death with 1:19 left in regulation 

- Barton would hold Catawba scoreless over the final 12:09 of the final frame, sending the game to sudden-death overtime with the score at 10-10 

OVERTIME 

- Both teams battled for the winner, but it would Barton who emerged victorious, with Washington finding the back of the Catawba net again with :37 seconds left in the first overtime to give the Bulldogs an 11-10 victory  

UP NEXT 

- Catawba is back in action on Wednesday, March 6, as they return home to Shuford Stadium to host the Southern New Hampshire Penmen at 4 p.m.