The #4 Maryland Terrapins (3-1) were welcomed by the Villanova Wildcats (1-2) who got the best of their guests, 13-12.
History was made with the victory as it marked only the second time Villanova has defeated Maryland and the first time in their building.
More history was made on the first goal of the game with Keegan Khan becoming the 26th player in school history to record 100 points when he set up Corey McManus (2g,1) and Villanova was getting untracked.
Khan made it 101 when he sent a pretty pass to Patrick Daly (3g,1a).
McManus set up Connor Kirst (3g,2a) and with just 7:52 elapsed, the Wildcats were just that.
Logan Wisnauskas (4g,1a) stopped the run with a pair of Maryland goals before Khan (2g,3a) turned goal scorer.
It took just twenty seconds for Jared Bernhardt (3g,2a) to make his presence known.
Bernhardt enjoyed the goal so much, he added another just 1:04 later to close the first quarter right where it started, tied. 4-4.
The second stanza was a “see ya, raise ya” affair with each team answering the other.
Khan kicked things off with an extra man tally that Bernhardt would counter.
Patrick Kennedy (1g) banged home a nice transition goal but, once again, the Terps countered with Jake Smith (1g) doing the honors.
With 1:20 remaining, Daly sent a pretty pass to McManus and the half was upon us with Villanova on the prowl, holding a 7-6 lead.
Fifty-seven seconds into the third, Kirst stretched it to a two-goal Nova lead.
The counter-punching continued with Anthony DeMaio matching seven minutes later.
Kirst and Daly put the home team in front by three with 2:26 to play.
Wisnauskas had something to say about the situation and the combatants went to the final fifteen minutes with Maryland on the short end of the 10-8 score.
Colin Crowley (1g), Eric Overbay (1g,1a) and Daly seemed to blow things open, pushing Villanova to a five-goal lead at 13-8.
Maryland is not ranked #4 for the fun of it… the Terps came out of their shells and mounted a comeback.
Daniel Martz (1g,1g), Bubba Fairman (2g1a) a second from Bubba and a man up from Wisnauskas made the crowd uneasy and with :38 remaining, we had a nail biter, 13-12.
With :13 left, Maryland forced a turnover and immediately called their timeout.
The clock ticked down to four seconds and Fairman fired an errant pass for an unforced turnover to write the ending to an epic contest.
Dis and Dat: Face-offs went the Maryland way, 17 of 29 with shots on go also going the way of the turtle, 26-25.
The Terps also had the edge in loose balls with a 31-27 advantage.
Extra man chances revealed 1 for 4 for the visitors while Villanova was 1 of 3.
Will Vitton had 14 saves for the homeboys.
Wildcats Defensive specialist, Patrick Kennedy picked up a goal and caused four turnovers.
Kevin has followed and promoted the game of lacrosse since May 19, 1974.
The same day the Philadelphia Flyers won the Cup, the Philadelphia Wings were introduced to Neibauer and Philadelphia.
Kevin has covered many sports, including baseball, football, basketball, and.. lacrosse. A former licensed football referee and baseball umpire, Kevin brings a unique insight to his game coverage.
A published writer in JustHockey Magazine, Kevin covered the American Hockey League as well as a monthly story on a pugilist where Kevin used the pen name, The Rink Rat. Neibauer turned his attentions to lacrosse for a few years and does his part, whether podcasting or writing to grow the game. Kevin branched out to his roots and currently provides insight for all Philadelphia teams for Edge of Philly as well as his full-time duties with LaxPhilly.
