WENHAM, Mass.—Jake Martin (Watertown, Conn.) capped off a wild game with the golden goal just a minute and 19 seconds into the first overtime period to send Gordon Men's Lacrosse to an 11-10 win over UNE. The Fighting Scots trailed for nearly 50 minutes of regulation, but a big fourth quarter sparked a comeback to clinch the fifth seed in the upcoming Commonwealth Coast Conference playoffs.
 
The Fighting Scots improved to 7-9 on the season and 4-4 in the CCC. UNE was eliminated from postseason play with the loss and finishes 8-9 and 3-5 in conference.
 
Sam Cloutier (Lewiston, Maine) registered the first goal of the game just over two minutes into the first quarter. Gordon's Jordan Heckelmann (Colorado Springs, Colo.) answered right back with an unassisted tally of his own in the fifth minute of the period.
 
The tie lasted less than two minutes, as Dan Auger (Nashua, N.H.) fired home a shot with 8:40 to go in the first. Andrew Curro (Niskayuna, N.Y.) pushed the Nor'easter lead to two goals, again on an unassisted score. Heckelmann dropped the deficit to one with 43 ticks on the clock in the first, scoring for the second time in the period.
 
Martin scored his first of the game at the 10:18 mark in the second quarter to even the score at three goals, a trend that would continue well into the fourth period. Connor Leggett (Sunderland, Vt.) and Tom Luttrell (Greenbrae, Calif.) both finished off Auger passes to increase the UNE back to two goals with under five to play in the first half.
 
Nico Manganiello (Peabody, Mass.) tapped in an Owenn Geis (Santa Ana, Calif.) pass on a fast break, but Curro helped UNE carry a two-goal lead into the locker rooms with a last-minute goal on a feed from Luttrell.
 
UNE held a 24-16 shot lead over the first 30 minutes, but the two teams were close in every other stat category.
 
Once again the Fighting Scots rallied to tied the game, scoring the first two goals of the second half to even the game at six. Martin and Michael Utz (Rochester, N.Y.) each registered goals in the period.
 
Right after Utz pulled the Scots even, Luttrell scored his second of the game 22 seconds later after a mix up in the Gordon defense. Auger increased UNE's lead to two goals entering the final 15 minutes with a man-up goal.
 
The Fighting Scots combined stellar efforts on offense and defense in the fourth quarter to retrieve their first lead of the game. Manganiello finished off a Heckelmann pass on a power play to bring Gordon within one before Martin tied the game at eight with 8 minutes remaining.
 
Michael Utz gave the Scots their first lead of the game with 7:01 on the clock in the fourth on a Matt Dantona (Syosset, N.Y.) pass, while Martin put Gordon up by two on his fourth unassisted goal of the game.
 
UNE would not back down despite a standout fourth quarter by Gordon keeper Cody Greenwald (Albany, N.Y.). Auger scored his third of the game with 3:30 to go in regulation and a late Gordon turnover gave the Nor'easters a final chance to tie the game. Auger made the Scots pay with a goal with 10 seconds on the scoreboard to force overtime.
 
The Nor'easters won the opening face-off of the extra period, but a quick turnover flipped the field. Gordon took over possession and methodically worked the ball to Martin, who curled from behind the net to scoop a shot into the goal.
 
Greenwald was a mad man for Gordon in between the pipes, making a career-high 21 saves for the Scots and eight in the fourth quarter to allow the Scots to make a move. David Pearson (Scarborough, Maine) took the loss for the Nor'easters while making 10 saves.
 
Gordon moves on to the first round of the CCC tournament, where they will meet Salve Regina on Saturday in Newport, R.I.