Williamsburg, KY – With 1:25 remaining in overtime, Maalek Wilson dodged towards the cage and put a well-placed shot into the net as the Cumberlands men's lacrosse team knocked off fifth-ranked Concordia 10-9 in overtime Wednesday night.  The Patriots have now won six straight season openers.

Michael Toohey led the way for the Patriots with 18 saves, including eight in the first quarter to keep the Cardinals at-bay.  It was the third most saves in a game for the senior and the fifth most in program history.  Tate Crowell and Ben Martin both recorded three caused turnovers. 

Wilson closed out the game with a hat trick and four points, while Dom Lulow, Nick Kava, and Will Rogers each added a pair of goals.   Ty Grooms won nine faceoffs and scooped a team-high seven ground balls.

UC was forced into a defensive stance early in the game and the Patriots responded as Toohey made three saves in the first five minutes of action.  Noah Brandt looked to put Cumberlands in front however, the Concordia made the save to keep the game scoreless.  The game remained even until the 4:58 mark when Wilson connected with Evan Barton for a goal to put the Patriots in front 1-0.  Toohey added a pair of saves before Kava fired a laser shot into the upper corner of the cage to make it 2-0.  Crowell and Martin each forced a turnover as UC held the 2-0 lead after the opening period.

Toohey notched three saves in the first five minutes of the second quarter, the final of which came as part of UC's man-down defense.  Cumberlands took advantage of a Cardinals penalty as Will Rogers dodged from behind the cage and found a crease to score making it 3-0.  Concordia added a pair of goals over the final minutes of the second quarter cutting the lead to 3-2 at the break.

The Cardinals continued their momentum into the third quarter adding three straight goals to take a 5-3 lead with 7:00 remaining.  UC won the faceoff and on the ensuing possession, Lulow found Kava for a goal to but Cumberlands within a goal.  Two minutes later, Wilson netted a pair of goals within a 20 second span to put the Patriots back in front 6-5 with 3:06 left.  After a Chrystian Coleman caused turnover, Lulow found space and tallied a goal to make it 7-5.  The Cardinals added a late goal cutting the lead to 7-6 heading into the fourth quarter.

Lulow added his second goal just over two minutes into the fourth quarter to extend the lead to 8-6.  Concordia netted three of the next four goals, including one from Ivan Progar with 18 seconds left to tie the game at 9-9 and force overtime.

Concordia forced a Patriot turnover on the first possession of overtime.  An Andrew Simmons shot ricochet off the crossbar a minute later, giving the ball back to UC.  On the next possession, Wilson dodged from the right side and put a well-placed shot into the cage for the 10-9 victory.

The Patriots will return to the field Saturday, February 17, when they host Life in their AAC opener.  The game is scheduled to begin at 5 p.m.

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