Men's Lacrosse picked up a tight win at home Wednesday night.
The (RV) Ravens defeated the (RV) Ottawa Braves 9-8, holding on for the win in the final moments.
With a 3-goal lead heading into the final period, the Braves and Ravens traded goals to open the period. After Ottawa pulled to within 2 early in the period, Jordan Rodriguez made a move and scored to put the Ravens up 9-6 with 6:33 remaining. The Ravens seemed to be in control, but Rodriguez's goal turned out to be the game-winner.
Ottawa made it 9-7 with 4:30 to play, then closed to within 1 with 31 seconds to go. Joseph Bianchi took the faceoff for the Ravens and Rodriguez scooped up the ground ball, closing out the final seconds of the game.
CJ Besuzzi came up big in goal for the Ravens, making 12 saves for a .600 percentage. The freshman goalie even dashed back to make a save on a seemingly-open net, getting his stick in the way at the last moment.
The Ravens took a 2-goal advantage into halftime thanks in large part to their stingy defense. The Ravens caused 10 of Ottawa's 17 turnovers in the opening 30 minutes and Besuzzi saved 7 of the 10 shots by the Braves.
The Ravens held the Braves scoreless for the entirety of the second quarter.
Rodriguez and Joey Calabria each scored a pair of goals in the opening half and Mac Postel Jr. added another to give the Ravens a 5-3 lead at the break.
Ottawa tied the score in the first 5 minutes of the third quarter, 5-5, but the Ravens answered to re-take the lead heading into the fourth quarter. First, Postel Jr. took advantage of a man-up situation, scoring on the assist by Calabria.
Then Rodriguez pushed the Ravens lead to 7-5 on an assist by Postel Jr. Finally, Liam Waldron charged from near midfield and scored on his own to give the Ravens an 8-5 lead headed into the final 15 minutes, and were able to hold on for the win.
Rodriguez led the Ravens with 4 goals as Calabria and Postel Jr. added 2, each.
The Ravens (4-4) will open up Heart of America play with a trip to Mount Vernon Nazarene on Saturday, March 23.
