Men's Lacrosse: Bison drops late game thriller to Wildcats

LYNCHBURG, Va. - Bethany College men's lacrosse traveled to Randolph for a spring break thriller. The Bison showed some bright flashes, but were unable to land a last second goal to send the game into overtime. They fell to the Wildcats 11-10 in their first spring break matchup.

THE BASICS

Final Score: Randolph 11, Bethany 10

HOW IT HAPPENED 

• Randolph won the faceoff and launched their attack early. They sailed a few shots before striking first with a goal from Leyton Brightly. Chase Callan served the assist.
• Randolph was able to consistently regain control and force shooting opportunities Bison Goalie Christian Nestor stayed strong in the net collecting four saves before his offense was able to tie the game on a Rutherford Sampson goal.
• On two occasions the Bison were up by a goal. Both leads were spoiled quickly by Brightly. He maintained the hot hand for the Wildcats scoring all three first period goals. The end of the first finished in a 3-3 tie.
• The second period functioned the same. The Bison would be able to score only for the Wildcats to quickly answer.
• Tyler Britton was able to reach the back of the net twice for the Bison in that quarter. Nestor collected 10 total saves in the first half. Still, the game was tied at 6-6 entering the half.
• Bethany struggled to control the ball throughout the third quarter. The Bison scored with 11:15 on the clock to break the tie. Apart from that lone shot, The Wildcats were able to rattle off seven shots and a pair of goals before the Bison offense could infiltrate with another shot attempt.
• Offense picked up for the Bison with under three minutes of play. They had some good looks and five total shot attempts before the end of the quarter. None of those shots felt the netting, though.
• Randolph is able to take a 9-7 lead into the last quarter of play.
• The Bison quickly rectified their offensive woes in the previous quarter by scoring quickly- twice. Britton scored his third of the game and was promptly followed by Maurice Plummer's first goal of the season. Those pair of goals tied the game 9-9.
• Randolph maintained consistency and bounced back with two goals of their own. Michael Baldwin scored twice to regain the lead, but there was still over nine minutes on the clock for the Bison to make something happen with the score being 11-9.
• Bethany's first opportunity came around the five minute mark. The Bison launched a flurry of shots and eventually cracked the line with Britton's fourth goal making it a one possession game.
• The Bison found themselves in another prime position with less than 1:30 on the clock. They had three shot attempts, all on goal, and all were saved. Randolph goalie Adam Ullfers stifled any late game heroics for the Bison.
• Bethany loses a close one to Randolph 11-10.

BISON TOP PERFORMERS 

• Britton led the team with four goals. Sampson was the only other multi-goal scorer (two).
• Cameron Russo tied Britton with five points. His one goal was elevated by his four assists.
• Nestor out-saved his opponent going 18-for-29 in the net.

WHERE NEXT 

The Bison (1-3) (0-1 PAC) will look to bounce back against Warren Wilson College (0-2) on Thursday March 6th. The first face-off is scheduled for 4 pm.