Fischetti's Late Strike Elevates Men's Lacrosse To 13-12 Victory

AURORA, N.Y. – Junior midfielder Tyler Fischetti (Weedsport, N.Y.) scored his first collegiate goal with 1:20 left in regulation time to power the Wells College men's lacrosse team to a 13-12 victory over the Pioneers from Alfred State College on Tuesday at the North Athletic Field. With the victory, Wells improves to 3-1 overall on the season and are off to their best start in program history, tying the team's all-time record for single season victories. Alfred State dips to 1-8 on the year.

With the score tied at 12 aside with 2:51 remaining in regulation, the Express turned the ball over in their offensive zone with 2:04 left in the fourth quarter. Wells, however, regained possession after junior Hayden Shuster (Careywood, Id.) forced a turnover and collected the ensuing ground ball to regain possession.

Following a scrum behind the Alfred State cage, the ball was collected by freshman Alex Milliken (Hilton, N.Y.) who emerged from a pack of defenders and fed a crashing Fischetti at the top of the slot. Without cradling the ball, Fischetti snapped off a shot that beat the Pioneers goalkeeper for the game-winning strike with 80 seconds left in regulation time.

Milliken led the Express with eight points via five goals and three assists (5-3=8). Sophomore Connor Jansen (Horseheads, N.Y.) was second on the squad with four points, scoring three goals and one assist for four points (3-1=4) while hauling in nine ground balls and winning 15-of-22 face-offs for the Express. Shuster reeled in 13 ground balls and caused a team-best nine turnovers for Wells.

In the first quarter, Wells jumped out to a 3-2 lead as both teams traded goals before Jansen's strike placed the Express on top with 2:05 left in the stanza. The Wells offense went on to score five straight goals to capture a 7-2 lead with 9:09 left in the first half. Alfred State, however, countered quickly with back-to-back goals from Andrew Delligati and Michael Maranga to cut into the deficit. A man-up goal by Jansen established an 8-4 lead for the Express entering halftime.

Alfred State scored the first two goals of the second half of play, using goals from Delligati and John Garbowski to cut into the deficit. After a goal from freshman Cody Roberson (Clemmons, N.C.) with 6:16 left in the third quarter, the Pioneers rattled off three-straight goals to tie the score at nine aside with 12:52 left in regulation time to tie the game at nine.

In the fourth quarter, Wells was sparked by senior Alex Manley (South Buffalo, N.Y.) and Milliken who, once again, created a lead for the Express at 11-9 with 6:28 left in the fourth quarter. Not to be outdone, Keegan Phalen used a Wells face-off loss to his advantage, carrying the ball up the field only 16 seconds following Milliken's tally, cutting the Wells lead to 11-10 with time ticking down.

After a Nate Spoor goal, Milliken scored his fifth goal of the game at 4:32 of the fourth quarter to reestablish a 12-11 lead. A clutch goal from Garbowski tied the game at 12 aside with 2:51 left in regulation time, setting up the Express for Fischetti's heroics.

Wells goaltender Tyler Bischoff (Allendale, N.J.) earned his third victory of the season between the pipes, turning aside 16 shots on net that he faced. With three victories on the season, Bischoff is now tied for first all-time in single season goalkeeping victories with Wells Assistant Coach Kyle Brimm '12 and Christopher Galluzzo.

Jonathan Caton earned the start for Alfred State, allowing eight goals on 15 shots faced before yielding to Ryan Amidon at the start of the second half. Amidon allowed five goals on 13 shots to draw the loss for the Pioneers.

The Express return to action next Wednesday, Apr. 9 as they host the Mavericks of Medaille College in a 4:00 p.m. tilt at the North Athletic Field.