WOOSTER – Joe Bolea’s second goal of the game with 44 seconds left in regulation proved to be the difference-maker in the Kenyon College men’s lacrosse team’s 8-7 win over the College of Wooster.
With the win, the Lords improved to 10-3 overall and 5-1 in the North Coast Athletic Conference.
After three periods of play, Kenyon held on to a 6-4 advantage. Less than 90 seconds into the final quarter, the Fighting Scots brought the game within one at 6-5. Wooster tied the game up with 4 1/2 minutes to go, then took a 7-6 lead shortly after. With two minutes remaining, Jack Giuffre tied the game with his third goal of the day. As the clock ticked under a minute to go and overtime looked imminent, Bolea forced a turnover and scooped up the ground ball. Going coast-to-coast, Bolea raced down the field and rifled a shot past Wooster goalkeeper Paul Chandler. In the closing seconds, the Scots couldn’t get a clean look at the net, and the time ran out.
In the opening quarter, Mike Matteo scored his 16th goal of the season to put Kenyon up 1-0. The lead didn’t last long as Wooster scored three goals before the period ended. Going into the second quarter, the Scots tacked on another just 15 seconds in, putting them up 4-1. With 12:46 left before halftime, Giuffre made the score 4-2. Joe Boesel followed Giuffre’s goal with a goal of his own to put the Lords within one. At the half, Kenyon faced a one-goal deficit.
The third quarter saw neither team find the back of the net until the 4:43 mark. Despite being a man down, Mayo Amorello went to his knees to make a save. After Amorello found Bolea, Bolea launched the ball 60 yards downfield into the empty Wooster goal. Bolea’s goal snapped a 20-minute game-time scoring drought. Before the quarter ended, Declan Curry and Giuffre added goals to give the Lords a two-goal advantage ahead of Bolea’s late-game heroics.
