LOUISVILLE, Ky. – The High Point University men’s lacrosse team lost to Bellarmine, 10-9, in overtime on Saturday in Louisville, Ky. The Knights won the opening face-off and scored six seconds in to the extra period to beat the Panthers. Dan Lomas led HPU with five goals and Austin Geisler had 17 saves in the game.
Stephen Soriano secured the win for Bellarmine by winning the first face-off of the overtime period. He carried the ball all the way down a fired a shot from the right alley for the game-winning goal. The Knights scored the final three goals of regulation to send the game to overtime.
Lomas led all players with five goals and Matt Thistle added three goals and two assists. Geisler made 17 saves in the game.
Tucker Ciessau tallied two goals with one assist for Bellarmine. Cameron Gardner added one goal and three assists.
High Point dropped to 7-4 on the season while Bellarmine improved to 6-4.
The Panthers jumped out to a 3-0 lead in the first 2:40 of the game. Thistle scored two goals and Lomas added a score to open up the early lead. Lomas’ goal extended his point streak to 21 games. High Point pushed the lead to 4-0 on Lomas’ second goal of the game, assisted by Nick Bittner, with 12:20 to play in the opening quarter.
In the second quarter, Bellarmine got to quick goals to cut HPU’s lead in half, 4-2, with 12:59 to play. Stevie Kirkup answered with a goal for the Panthers with 9:23 on the clock. The Knights went on a three-goal run to tie the game 5-5 at the end of the second quarter. Ciessau scored the first two goals and assisted the third to help Bellarmine tie the game heading in to halftime.
HPU opened up a three-goal advantage, 9-6, early in the fourth quarter. Thistle scored his third of the night with 13:43 remaining to give the Panthers the three-goal lead. The Knights scored the final three goals of the fourth period to tie the game and force overtime. Ryan Scinta scored the equalizer with 6:33 left to play. Both teams had chances in the final six and a half minutes but couldn’t find the back of the net.
It took just six seconds of overtime for Bellarmine to secure the win, 10-9, on Soriano’s goal.
High Point wraps up a three-game road trip next weekend at Richmond. The Atlantic Sun game will face-off at 1 p.m. The Spiders are in their first season and have a 3-8 overall record after a win at Furman on Saturday.