Mike Specht vs. Catholic 5/7/16
Matthew O'Haren
13
Winner Catholic CUA 11-6
12
Elizabethtown ETOWN 12-6
Winner
Catholic CUA
11-6
13
Final
12
Elizabethtown ETOWN
12-6
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 3 4 OT F
Catholic CUA 4 2 2 4 1 13
Elizabethtown ETOWN 4 2 4 2 0 12

Game Recap: Men's Lacrosse |

Blue Jays drop Landmark Championship in overtime

ELIZABETHTOWN, Pa. – Nick Specht sent the 2016 Landmark Conference Men's Lacrosse Championship to overtime with 64 seconds left in regulation, but tournament MVP Tim Keith scored with 3.1 seconds left in the extra session to help Catholic defend its league title in a back-and-forth thriller, 13-12, at Wolf Field.

Saturday's championship game, the first in E-town program history, featured massive runs going both ways. Catholic, the No. 3 seed, scored six unanswered in the third and fourth quarters, and five in a row between the first and second quarters. The Blue Jays countered by scoring four of the first five goals and putting up six in a row during the second and third quarters.

Elizabethtown (12-6) had a 10-6 lead –its largest of the afternoon– with 5:05 left in the third quarter following goals from Mike Specht, Phil Kyger and Joe Clark less than two minutes apart.

Keith, the championship tournament's Most Valuable Player, rallied the Cardinals (11-6) to within two by scoring consecutive goals to end the third.

The defending champs then dominated the first 10 minutes of the fouth, receiving a pair of goals from Jack Murphy (2) and one each from Dylan Neville and Victor Licata to take a 12-10 lead with 5:19 remaining.

Though the lead was just two, momentum was clearly on the Cards' side.

Nick Specht pulled a little of the tide back in E-town's favor when he took advantage of an inopportune delay of game penalty assessed to Neville. Specht rifled home a pass from Dan Bednarik to cut Catholic's lead to 12-11 with 4:06 to go.

Just over three minutes later, after a Cardinals' turnover, Nick Specht beat CUA goalie Harrison Holak on a second-chance effort to tie the game. Elizabethtown's Matt Stewart won the ensuing face-off, but the Jays could not crack CUA one more time in regulation. Instead, they headed to overtime for the second time in 2016.

Catholic opened OT with possession, but Davis Miracle came up with a huge save on Licata and the Blue Jays took over. With 46 seconds left, Bednarik's shot found iron, ricocheting out to mid-field. Keith scooped it up and the visitors called timeout.

With the game and championship on the line, the Cardinals left it up to their leading scorer, and he came through. Keith darted in front the left side and evaded Miracle, sending the Catholic bench into hysteria. The Cardinals have won four straight road conference tournament games as a lower seed on their way to back-to-back Landmark titles.

Mike Specht had four goals on 10 shots for Elizabethtown. Nick Specht and Cody Larkin each scored twice, while Bednarik and Kyger finished with a goal and an assist apiece.

Clark's third-quarter goal brought a bit of program history with it, as the junior from Hershey, Pa., became the first Blue Jay with two 40-goal seasons (and back-to-back 40-goal seasons) in a career. The goal was also No. 99 in Clark's decorated career.

Stewart, who has spent his freshman season biding his time as the Jays' No. 2 face-off specialist, won a career-high 13 on 24 attempts Saturday. Jason Clough tallied a goal, four ground balls and two caused turnovers for the Blue and Gray. Jeremy Klipple, the conference leader in caused turnovers, added two more and picked up three ground balls. Miracle made seven saves.

E-town outshot the Cards 44-39 and committed just nine turnovers.

Holak recovered from a slow start to stop 15 Elizabethtown shots. Keith equaled Mike Specht with a game-high four goals. Licata (3 goals, 1 assist) and Murphy recorded hat tricks and Bennett Bradley chipped in with a goal and two assists.

The Blue Jays, the No. 1 seed in the Landmark Championship for the second straight year, finish their season with a 12-6 record. Catholic will represent the conference in the NCAA Division III Tournament, which begins next week.

 
Print Friendly Version

Players Mentioned

Dan Bednarik

#23 Dan Bednarik

A
5' 10"
Junior
Joe Clark

#1 Joe Clark

A
5' 10"
Junior
Jason Clough

#22 Jason Clough

M
6' 0"
Junior
Phil Kyger

#24 Phil Kyger

A
5' 10"
Junior
Cody Larkin

#8 Cody Larkin

M
6' 2"
Junior
Davis Miracle

#34 Davis Miracle

G
6' 3"
Senior
Mike Specht

#12 Mike Specht

M
6' 3"
Junior
Nick Specht

#41 Nick Specht

M
6' 3"
Junior
Jeremy Klipple

#6 Jeremy Klipple

D
5' 8"
Freshman
Matt Stewart

#32 Matt Stewart

M
5' 5"
Freshman

Players Mentioned

Dan Bednarik

#23 Dan Bednarik

5' 10"
Junior
A
Joe Clark

#1 Joe Clark

5' 10"
Junior
A
Jason Clough

#22 Jason Clough

6' 0"
Junior
M
Phil Kyger

#24 Phil Kyger

5' 10"
Junior
A
Cody Larkin

#8 Cody Larkin

6' 2"
Junior
M
Davis Miracle

#34 Davis Miracle

6' 3"
Senior
G
Mike Specht

#12 Mike Specht

6' 3"
Junior
M
Nick Specht

#41 Nick Specht

6' 3"
Junior
M
Jeremy Klipple

#6 Jeremy Klipple

5' 8"
Freshman
D
Matt Stewart

#32 Matt Stewart

5' 5"
Freshman
M