BOXSCORE

The members of The College at Brockport's men's lacrosse team know that every game is a must-win game down the stretch if the Golden Eagles hope to qualify for their first-ever berth in the State University of New York Athletic Conference (SUNYAC) postseason tournament.

 

Despite a slow start Saturday afternoon against SUNYAC rival Oneonta, the Green and Gold's playoff hopes remain alive thanks to some timely defense, a quick-strike attack and clutch play from senior goalie Jon Fiorillo (Painted Post, NY/Corning West).

 

Sophomore midfielder Jesse Elliott (Clifton Park, NY/Shenendehowa) scored a career-high five goals while senior midfielder Mike Tammaro (Painted Post, NY/Corning West) handed out a school-record seven assists as the Golden Eagles rallied from a 7-1 deficit to win 14-13 at Bob Boozer Field at Eunice Kennedy Shriver Stadium.

 

Tammaro, who also had two goals, tied Pat Reilly's (Fairport, NY/Fairport) school record of nine points in a single game. Reilly accomplished the feat during a March 28, 2007 game against Medaille College.

 

Brockport (5-7 overall, 2-3 SUNYAC) trailed 6-1 at the end of the first quarter, and 7-1 after Oneonta (3-9, 1-3) scored its fifth consecutive goal 1:14 into the second quarter.

 

The Golden Eagles then went on a 10-2 scoring run over a 19 minute, seven-second span of the second and third quarters to take an 11-9 lead.

 

“Lacrosse is a fast-paced game with a series of runs, and we knew we were capable of making a run of our own,” said Tammaro, who broke his own school-record of six assists, a mark he shared with Steve Reynolds (2002) and Anthony Ventresca (2005).

 

“We started getting the faceoffs and the groundballs and we scored a couple goals in a row. We made our own run to get back in the game. … We know it's do-or-die every game for us, we put ourselves in this situation and we just have to battle back. We're just focused on doing what we have to do to win.”

 

Tammaro certainly helped the Golden Eagles rally on Saturday. After junior Nate Thomas (Cortland, NY/Cortland) and senior Andy Hilton (Rochester, NY/Gates Chili) each scored to pull Brockport within 7-3, Tammaro found Elliott for a pair of nifty goals just 1:40 apart late in the second as Brockport pulled within 7-5.

 

Following an Oneonta goal with 31 seconds remaining in the first half, senior Justin Tierney (Baldwinsville, NY/C.W. Baker) scored an even-strength goal off a feed from Tammaro just 16 seconds later as Brockport went into halftime trailing 8-6.

 

Elliott scored three times during a span of 7:41 midway through the third quarter. The last two goals during the spurt came on man-up situations, with Tammaro finding Elliott for the tying goal with 5:53 remaining, and Elliott scoring the go-ahead goal unassisted just 41 seconds later.

 

“We've built up a great amount of chemistry, playing lacrosse with each other and knowing each other these past two years,” Tammaro said. “I feel like I know where I have to go with the ball, and I know where Jesse would like to get the ball so he has the best chance of scoring. It's real fun playing out there with this team right now.”

 

Hilton converted Brockport's third man-up goal of the quarter, and third in a span of 80 seconds, when he scored off another Tammaro feed with 4:33 left in the third.

 

The pesky Red Dragons wouldn't go away easily, and responded by scoring the next three goals to take a 12-12 lead. But freshman Brendon Rothfuss (Webster, NY/Webster Thomas) tied the score on a man-up goal 3:37 into the fourth, and Thomas gave Brockport the lead for good with Brockport's fifth and final man-up goal with 7:49 to play.

 

Tammaro assisted on both Rothfuss' and Thomas' goals, then got in on the scoring action with an even-strength goal with 1:50 to play. Oneonta pulled within 14-13 on a goal with 56 seconds left, but Fiorillo made the last of his 10 saves down the stretch to seal the win.

 

“It's huge for this team to get this win. It took me a while to get used to playing at this level, but the longer I play, the better I'm playing, and I'm definitely playing much better recently,” said Elliott,  whose previous career-high was three goals against Cazenovia on March 29, 2011.

 

“I know what I need to do to score, and I know how to handle the defenses out there. I'm getting comfortable and right now, our entire offense is playing real well.”

 

Hilton, Thomas and Tierney each had two goals for Brockport, which converted 5 of 9 man-up situations, including going a perfect 5-for-5 in the second half.

 

The Golden Eagles conclude the regular season at home with a 1 p.m. Senior Day contest against Oswego on Saturday, April 30.