In its second consecutive nail-biter, the men's lacrosse team pulled out a comeback win against Bellarmine University at home Tuesday. Neither team led by more than two goals at any point, and in the end the Bears outlasted the Knights 9-8 to record their third consecutive victory and move to 3-1 overall.
The Bears were led by tri-captain and attackman David Madeira '07, who scored five goals and added an assist in his second game back from a knee injury. Though Madeira is still not completely healthy, he ran circles around the Bellarmine defense, weaving between two defenders before bouncing in his third score. At another point, he got through four different Knights before being knocked down and stripped in front of the net.
Two of his goals came in man-up situations off feeds from attackman Jack Walsh '09. "Jack threw some really good passes," Madeira said. "He is really good at what he does."
His final two tallies came on passes from fellow tri-captain Alex Buckley '07. In both cases, Buckley drew two defenders as he attacked the cage, leaving Madeira open in the middle for shots that he rifled past the Bellarmine goalie.
"Most of the credit goes to (Assistant Coach Jon Thompson)," Madeira said. "We used a scheme that the University of Maryland used against Bellarmine. We took advantage of the way their defense was sliding, and teammates just found me in the middle."
Head Coach Lars Tiffany '90 said the intangibles Madeira brings to the team are almost as important as his performance on the field. "David Madeira is a very talented lacrosse player and a leader," Tiffany said. "With him, we are not only a better team scoring goals, but emotionally as well. He leads us by example."
Despite Madeira's brilliant play, Brown found itself in a 60-minute dogfight. Ahead only 2-1 after one quarter of play, Brown had multiple scoring opportunities in the period. The Bears credited Knights' goalie J.C. Hutchens for keeping his side in the game.
"(Hutchens) played really well, so the game was closer than it should have been," Madeira said.
With six minutes to go in the game after a giant hit from Buckley helped the Bears maintain possession of the ball, they were able to tie the game for the first time since early in the third quarter. Attackman Kyle Hollingsworth '09, who had been relatively quiet to that point, took the ball behind the Bellarmine net, came around the side and beat Hutchens.
With the game tied, the Bears stepped up the pressure on the Knights. "I am really proud of the way we rode," Tiffany said. "We were tough and gritty."
Tiffany cited two enormous hits by midfielder Mike Cummins '08 and one from midfielder Thomas Muldoon '10 as evidence of the physical play his team employed down the stretch.
Offensively, most of Bellarmine's success came in the transition game off faceoffs. But Tiffany said he was not too concerned with his team's play in that area. "Give credit to the Bellarmine faceoff," Tiffany said. "(Bellarmine midfielder Bobby) Snider is excellent."
Despite Brown's struggle with faceoffs all game, Buckley pointed to a win by faceoff specialist Nic Bell '09 late in the fourth quarter as a key to the victory. The successful re-start came after Hollingsworth's goal and helped prevent an immediate Knight counter-attack, something that had allowed Bellarmine to keep the game close throughout the afternoon.
After Bell's face-off win, Brown's game-winning goal started with a daring decision by its last line of defense. Goaltender Jordan Burke '09 received the ball from one of his defenders off of a turnover and proceeded up the field. He took on two defenders near midfield and was knocked to the ground, but Burke impressively retained possession and dumped the ball off to a teammate.
"'Oh, God,' was my initial reaction," Tiffany said. "But Jordan has been in that situation a lot of times. He is crafty and finds a way to elude opposing players. He had the poise and presence to move the ball up."
Brown worked the ball into Hollingsworth's stick behind the net again. In a similar fashion to the goal he scored minutes earlier, Hollingsworth came around the cage and deposited the winner into the back of the net with 3:08 remaining, dodging numerous Knights in the process.
Afterward, Tiffany praised Hollingsworth's improved play this season. "Kyle stepped up and made big plays when we needed them," he said. "In the fall, Kyle began developing into a man, accepting responsibility for his play. There is a direct correlation between this change and him stepping up and making plays late."
Buckley said off-season work has allowed Brown to pull out close games early in the season. "We have been building this since the fall," he said. "When we are in a tight situation, we know we can be successful."
The Bears will hit the road again on Saturday traveling to the University of Massachusetts, Amherst.
