CANTON, Ohio – In the first of a three-game road trip, the D'Youville University men's lacrosse team battled hard but fell to Malone University in overtime by a score of 15-14.
 
The Saints (1-1) were led by Stefano Evan (Vestal, N.Y./Vestal) with seven points (4 goals, 3 assists) with Jonathan Abbarno (Chargin Falls, Ohio/Kenston) adding four goals. Obrigh Tallchief (Irving, N.Y./Lake Shore) had two points (1 goal, 1 assist) with five other Saints adding a goal each. Tallchief led the team in groundballs with four while Logan Schwartz (Depew, N.Y./Depew) led the way in caused turnovers with four.
 
Both teams got on the board in the early goings, trading goals to make it 1-1 in the opening minute. DYU then went on a 5-0 run to make it 6-1 with 4:23 left in the frame. In the run, Abbarno had a pair of goals while Evan, Brady Ruffalo (Webster, N.Y./Webster Schroeder), and Caleb Pate (East Amherst, N.Y./Williamsville North) each scored. The Pioneers got on back before the Saints scored two straight with goals from Tallchief and Nick Sholett (Vestal, N.Y./Vestal) to make it 8-2 after the first quarter.
 
To open the second quarter, Malone scored two straight to close the gap. Abbarno added another goal to make it a 9-4 game with 6:07 left before the break. The Pioneers got one back before halftime as they trailed 9-5 going into the break.
 
Coming out of the half, Evan lite up the goal with back-to-back goals to help take an 11-5 lead. Malone responded with three goals of their own, but the run was halted by Evan with a man-up goal to make it 12-8. The Pioneers added one more goal in the frame as D'Youville would take a 12-9 lead into the final frame of regulation.
 
Malone started the scoring in the fourth, but Carsyn Kent (Whitby, Ontario/Donald A. Wilson Secondary) got the Saints on the board in the quarter to lead 13-10. The Pioneers rattled off four straight goals to gain their first lead on the game with 2:12 left in the fourth. Looking to at least extend the game, Luciano Gonzalez (Coquitlam, British Columbia/Centennial Secondary) tied the game with 28 seconds left to send the game into extra time. In the overtime period, the Pioneers were able to score and proved to be the difference in the game.
 
Casey Berns (Webster, N.Y./Webster Schroeder) went the distance in net, making 15 saves on 30 attempts.
 
The Saints will be back in action next Sunday, February 16th, as they travel to Post University for a 12 p.m. game.