LAURINBURG, N.C. –The Royals traveled to face the St. Andrews Presbyterian College Knights this afternoon in Conference Carolinas men's lacrosse action in search of a win after falling to No. 1 Limestone over the weekend. Queens was upset 14-13 by the Knights when Alex Tindall found the back of the net for the home team with 1:28 on the clock.
The Royals (7-3, 3-2 CC) drop to third place in the league while St. Andrews (7-8, 1-3 CC) picks up its first conference win of the season.
After trading goals in the opening quarter of play, the Royals scored three goals in a row going up 4-1 with 42-seconds left on the clock. T.C. Whaley (Carlsbad, Calif., La Costa Canyon) notched two of the three goals during the run for Queens. With 2.4 seconds left on the clock, Cameron Walsh snuck the ball in goal making the score 4-2 at the end of the period.
In the second quarter each team tallied four goals as the Royals kept their two point lead heading in to the break. Queens' Travis Speer (Newtown, Conn., Newtown) was able to collect two goals in the period.
Speer opened the third stanza with yet another goal; however, it would be the only goal of the period for Queens. The Knights mustered together a 4-to-0 run taking over the lead for the first time in the game. Daniel Shields and Michael Thomas led St. Andrews in the run scoring two goals apiece.
After the Knights scored two quick goals to begin the fourth, Queens responded with four straight to regain control of the game leading by one point with 8:12 left to play. Four different players scored during the offensive spurt. It seemed as if the Royals would hold on for the win until Steven Tramonte fired a ball into the net tying the game at 13 with 3:36 on the clock.
Neither team scored in the final minutes of regulation leading the game into overtime. After a deadlock in the first overtime, the Knights were able to capitalize in the final two minutes of the second taking the victory.
Whaley and Speer each recorded hat tricks for the Royals. Joe Taylor (Aurburn, N.Y., Auburn) scored two goals in addition to winning 16-of-25 face-offs and collecting 11 ground balls. Corey Geroy (Horseheads, N.Y., Horseheads) tallied two assists. Brandon Macknew (Abington, Md., Bel Air) collected 13 stops in goal.
The Knights were led by Shields who totaled four goals. Tromante and Thomas each scored three. Stephen Murphy won 14-of-30 face-offs and scooped up 14 ground balls. Kyle Davitt picked up the win in goal collecting 11 saves.
Queens will travel to face No. 12 Mars Hill College on Saturday in Mars Hill, N.C. The game is set to begin at 1pm.
