MONTGOMERY, Ala. – The Alma College men's lacrosse team kicked off their spring break games with a trip to Huntingdon College. The Scots fought for 66 minutes as they were able to pull out a win in double overtime as they head to Memphis with a win.

Alma struck first less than five minutes in with a goal in transition from Landen Miele with an assist from Kevin Koenn. Alma was able to score again just minutes later on an Aaron Zettel shot that whizzed by the goalie. Huntingdon was able to get on the board from a man-up opportunity to bring the score to 2-1. The Scots then answered back quickly with a man-up goal of their own from Ezra Leppanen with Anar Tumurbaatar assisting the goal. Alma ended the first quarter with a 3-1 lead.

Tumurbaatar struck just 21 seconds into the second from a feed by Byron Weber to increase the Scots lead to three. Ryan O'Loughlin joined in on the scoring with a goal around the eight-minute mark in the second from a pass through a window from Patrick Hodges. The Hawks would find their stride and rally off three unanswered goals to bring the game back within one before Leppanen scored with just over a minute remaining in the half. Alma went into halftime with a 6-4 lead.

Huntingdon came out of the half ready to play spoiler to the Scots as they scored three unanswered goals to take their first lead of the evening. Zettel played spoiler to the Hawks run as he was able to tie the game back up at sevens. The Hawks answered back just over a minute later and took the lead again, 8-7. Both teams would hold each other scoreless off the board for the rest of the quarter and the Scots looked to regain the lead in the fourth. 

The Scots struck early once again, this time 27 seconds into the final quarter on a goal by Tumurbaatar with an O'Loughlin assist. Huntingdon would again regain the lead with two goals in five minutes, leaving Alma with just over six minutes to fight for a win. A goal by Tumurbaatar with less than five minutes remaining put life back into the Scots as they only trailed by one with a lot of game to still be played. A Hawks goal would stretch the lead back to two with two minutes remaining and the Alma found themselves having to dig deep to push the game to an extra frame. Haden Johnson was able to find Leppanen with an open lane which led to a goal with just over a minute left, giving Alma a one-goal deficit and time still on the clock. With under a minute left, Joey Allen caused a Huntingdon turnover and Johnson scooped the ground ball before a late timeout was called for the Scots to go over a final play. Coming out of the timeout, Alma had a shot attempt blocked but was able to get the ground ball by Kevin Koenn and Lucas Gratz buried the ball behind the goalie with just eight seconds remaining in the game. 

Heading into overtime tied 11-11, neither team was able to get a solid look in the first overtime and time ran out, forcing the game to a second overtime period. A defensive stop early in the second overtime led to a successful clear by Alma and a timeout to settle the game down. Coming out of the timeout, Tumurbaatar with the game on his stick, fired a shot past to the side of the goaltender and was able to give Alma a thrilling win over the Hawks.

Tumurbaatar led the way for the Scots with four goals and an assist for a total of five points. Leppanen scored three goals and Zettel notched two for the game. Owen Armstrong led the Scots in the ground balls department with four and he was also able to cause two turnovers. Allen also recorded two caused turnovers to tie for the game-high. Burns eld the defense down in net recording six saves for the game.

Coach Hogan had this to say regarding the game, "It was a great win for the boys. We were given every opportunity to lean on excuses for any lack of success today. Instead, we showed incredible grit and came away with a win. Captain Landen Miele stepped up incredibly today with a tally in the goal column and continues to be our spark when things appear bleak. All focus is on Rhodes now."

Alma will now travel to Memphis, Tennessee with a few days in between their next game. The Scots will take on the Lynx of Rhodes College on Saturday, March 4th. The game will begin at 3:30 PM EST.

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Story Credit: Eli Pinter, Sports Information Intern