Neller nets gamewinning goal with 1:46 to play as Tars erase four-goal second half deficit

Boxscore 

WINTER PARK, Fla. (March 17, 2009) - Rollins College scored five unanswered goals, including four in the fourth quarter, to rally for a 10-9 victory over Franklin Pierce University in non-conference men's lacrosse action this afternoon.

Sophomore BJ Neller (Winter Park, Fla./Winter Park) capped a Rollins rally from a 9-6 deficit entering the fourth quarter with an unassisted goal with 1:46 left in regulation to lift the Tars to victory. Neller finished with a goal and assist on the afternoon.

Freshman Austin Ricci (Winter Park, Fla./Winter Park) led Rollins with four goals and two assists for six points. Freshman Charles Cook (Hamden, Conn./Trinity Pawling School) also posted a goal and assist for the Tars.

Freshman Jon Autorino (North Caldwell, N.J./West Essex Regional) led Franklin Pierce with three goals. Sophomores Jack Scanlan (Great Neck, N.Y./Great Neck North) and Jonathan Martinez (Waterbury Center, Vt./Rice Memorial) each netted two goals for the Ravens.

Sophomore goalkeeper Zach Cole (Rumford, R.I./Moses Brown) preserved the win with 25 saves in the full 60-minutes for Rollins, including six in holding Franklin Pierce scoreless in the final quarter. Cole stopped four shots after the Tars had tied the score with 3:20 to play and two in the final 1:19, including a save on Scanlan with 11-seconds to play to preserve victory.

Sophomore Shea Campbell (Centerport, N.Y./Harborfields) finished with 12 saves in 59:08 in goal for Franklin Pierce. The Ravens finished with a 41-34 advantage in shots for the match, including 34-22 on target.

Franklin Pierce led 5-2 after the first quarter as Martinez, Scanlan and Autorino broke a 2-2 tie with goals in the final 9:01 of the stanza. The Ravens led 9-5 after senior co-captain Jason Flanigan (Shrewsbury, Mass./Shrewsbury) scored off a feed from freshman Jacob Ferreira (Kennebunk, Maine/Kennebunk) with 8:15 left in the third quarter.

However, Rollins scored the final five goals of the match, with Ricci and Neller posting a goal and assist each during that time to pull out the win. Freshman Alex Patch (Providence, R.I./Moses Brown School) drew the Tars level with 3:20 remaining, off a Ricci assist, just 20-seconds after Ricci had scored off a Neller feed to pull the hosts within one with 3:40 on the clock.

Both teams struggled in man-up situations, with Franklin Pierce converting 1-of-4 attempts and Rollins scoring on just 1-of-7.

Franklin Pierce (0-3, 0-0 NE-10) is back in action on Sunday when it opens its Northeast-10 Conference schedule at Assumption College at 1 p.m. The Ravens return home on Wednesday, March 25, to host Bentley University at 4 p.m. Rollins (2-3, 0-2 DSC) hosts Saint Michael's College on Saturday at noon.