BRIDGEWATER, MA --Lesley ended its season in heartbreaking fashion, dropping a hard-fought 3-2 contest in double-overtime at Bridgewater State in the Eastern College Athletic Conference Tournament Wednesday night.
Tyler Reeves put the No. 8-seeded Lynx on the board at 28:18, beating goalkeeper DJ Siewierski after a deflection caromed to Jonathan Jones Takano, who spotted the senior midfielder for the strike. For Reeves, an All-New England Collegiate Conference Second Team selection, it was his team-leading 10 goal of the season.
Paul Vasconcelos' club held command for the remainder of the period, going into halftime with a 1-0 lead.
It took all of 17 seconds after halftime for the No. 1 seeded-Bears to even the score. Pat Kenneally fired a free kick from just over 20 yards on the left wing and hooked it inside the right post beyond the dive of an outstretched goalkeeper Zachary Almeida-Beers. Kenneally's fourth goal of 2010 was only the seventh allowed in 18 games for the NECC Goalie of the Year, and it reset the contest with 44 minutes ahead.
Lesley threatened with quality chances in the minutes to come. Ari Sinanis was stoned by Siewierski with 35:20, and the Bears keeper made a diving save to get a left hand on a Jonathan Jones Takano strike with 34:20 left.
Moving to his right, Sinanis was denied at just inside the 10:00 mark, which would be Lesley's last opportunity before the Bears took their first lead of the night.
With just under 7:00 remaining, Craig Shadduck struck on a feed from Kazuhisa Miyata, putting the Bears on top, 2-1.
Ever the resilient bunch, Lesley evened the score just moments later after a Sinanis corner kick. With the Bears defense converging on Jones Takano in front of the Bridgewater net, the head of 5-foot-8 midfielder Joe Petit knocked in the game-tying goal, his seventh of the year.
An up and down overtime period gave way to a double-overtime controlled largely by the Bears, who spent the majority of the period in Lynx territory. A pushing foul on Lesley led to another ominous free kick for Bridgewater. In the 109th minute, Kenneally struck again, crushing the game-winning goal in the top right of the net.
In spite of the Bears taking the only two shots of double overtime, Lesley outshot Bridgewater 24-13 for the game, with Almeida-Beers making four saves in the loss.
Sinanis and Reeves end the season in a tie for the Lesley all-time single season goals record with 10 each, good for a tie for third in the NECC. Petit, meanwhile, moves into an eighth-place tie in the NECC goals column with teammate Ali Sozeri with seven each.
NECC Coach of the Year Paul Vasconcelos and the Lynx end 2010 at 15-3-1 overall, while the Bears advance in the ECAC Tournament to face either Brandeis or Albertus Magnus.
