The UAH men’s lacrosse team returned home on Saturday to face off against Flagler College in the Peach Belt Conference’s fifth match. The Flagler College Saints are a recent addition to the Peach Belt, having been added last year. As such, these two teams have only played each other twice before, with UAH coming out on top both times. Flagler’s lineup this season is also unimpressive, with Jake Griffin being their only notable player. Despite this, the Saints won three of their four prior games this season, while the Chargers have only won two. For that reason, this was a game that could go in any direction.
Photo Cred: Flagler College Athletics (Griffin)
Huntsville kicked off the first quarter in their usual fashion, scoring two points right off the bat. They were unable to build up their signature first-quarter momentum, as the Saints’ Logan Tobias suddenly scored a point. This rendered the Chargers off balance, and Flagler expertly took advantage of the situation, scoring another four points. The score for the first quarter thus was 5-2, in favor of Flagler College.
Photo Cred: Flagler College Athletics (Tobias)
UAH managed to gather itself in the quarter break and came back strong for the second quarter. The Chargers pushed hard, scoring four consecutive points, and almost prevented the Saints from scoring at all. This was not to happen though, as Flagler’s Antanas Mikuzis scored with four seconds left in the quarter. The half ended with the score tied 6-6.
Photo Cred: Flagler College Athletics (Mikuzis)
The Saints opened the second half by scoring twice in the first minute of play, bringing them into the lead. Charger Brody Phillips soon launched a counterattack and scored two points in a row, followed by another from his teammate Pete Fabrizio. Flagler and UAH traded a couple of points, which was followed by Huntsville scoring two points in the last 20 seconds. This brought the third-quarter score to 12-10, in favor of the Chargers.
Photo Cred: UAH Athletics (Phillips) Photo Cred: UAH Athletics (Fabrizio)
UAH attempted to play defensively in the final quarter to maintain their lead, but that proved to be ineffective. Flagler managed to score two points while denying the Chargers any. As the clock reached zero, the two teams were tied 12-12, placing the game in sudden-death overtime. After two and a half tense minutes of play, Mikuzis scored the game-winning goal, claiming victory for Flagler.
Photo Cred: Flagler College Athletics
