Keegan Ford Beats The Buzzer As Men's Lacrosse Rallies To Beat Lindenwood 14-13

Published: Saturday, March 11, 2023
Men's Lacrosse Win

NJIT Men's Lacrosse decided to get in on the March Madness.

Keegan Ford's buzzer beating transition goal capped off a furious fourth-quarter rally and gave the Highlanders an epic 14-13 victory over the Lindenwood Lions Saturday afternoon at Lubetkin Field at Mal Simon Stadium.
 
From the outset, NJIT (2-4) took the fight to a Lindenwood (1-2) team that was playing its first contest in three weeks and jumped out to a 4-0 lead by the 6:46 mark of the first quarter. Teddy Grimley put NJIT on the board first off a dish from Gavyn Willson (13:01), followed by a solo strike from Garrett Muscatella (11:41) and a man-up connection from Owen Corry to Logan Hone (7:39) and a Hone assist to Willson. Lindenwood would score two quick goals to cut the lead in half (4-2 with 1:45 left) but Muscatella would add his second solo score with 21 seconds left in the opening stanza to put the Highlanders up, 5-2.

The second quarter was a literal mirror opposite of the first, as Lindenwood responded to NJIT's 5-2 period with a 5-2 quarter of their own. Willson (from Corry) and Muscatella (from Jack Bowie, man-up) gave the Highlanders their largest lead of the game at 7-2 with 10:49 left in the half but the Lions would rattle off five straight to send both teams into halftime on level terms, 7-7.

The visitors' scoring run extended into the second half, moving to eight unanswered and turning NJIT's 7-2 lead into a 10-7 deficit halfway through the third (7:19). An Owen-to-Muscatella score snapped the Lions' streak and two more goals (Muscatella-to-Bowie, man-up; Hone unassisted) helped NJIT score three of the last five to cut Lindenwood's lead to two (12-10) heading into the fourth.

That's when things got interesting.

Lindenwood went back up by three, 13-10, with 9:24 left before NJIT started its rally. The Highlanders' fourth man-up goal of the game - Hone's hat trick sealer from Brandon Wasitowski - trimmed the deficit to 13-11 with 5:21 to go. Bowie would join the hat trick party by scoring NJIT's next two goals: from Corry with 1:43 to go and the game-tying score from Hone with 23 seconds remaining in the contest. 

Lindenwood would win the ensuing faceoff but the NJIT defense would force the Lions to make an errant pass that was collected by Grimley. The loose ball was grabbed by Grimley and passed off to a streaking Ford, who was able to get off a low, underhand shot as he was hit from behind that just stuck past the Lindenwood keep as time expired. 

HIGHLIGHTS

OTHER NOTES

  • Saturday's one-goal victory was NJIT's closest margin of victory in program history. Paired with last week's two-goal triumph over Wagner (which gives Highlanders their first-ever winning streak), NJIT has won its two closest games in its nine-year history in back-to-back weeks.

ALL TIME WINS & MARGINS OF VICTORY

  • Mar. 11, 2023: 14-13 vs Lindenwood (+1)
  • Mar. 4, 2023: 10-8 vs Wagner (+2)
  • Mar. 22, 2016: 10-7 at Dartmouth (+3)
  • Mar. 5, 2019: 8-5 vs Monmouth (+3)
  • Mar. 27, 2021: 14-10 at UMass Lowell (+4)
  • Apr. 14, 2018: 15-8 vs Hampton (+7)
  • Apr. 15, 2017: 17-3 at Hampton (+14)
  • Feb. 1. 2020: 24-7 vs Hampton (+17)
  • Apr. 6, 2019: 26-9 at Hampton (+17)
     
  • NJIT's 14 goals, ten assists, 46 shots, and 14 faceoff wins were all season highs.
  • Muscatella's career-high four goals matched Willson for the team season-best in a game (4) and his career-best five points matched Hone's five for the season high.
  • Hone's last hat trick came on March 27, 2021 in the win at UMass Lowell while his last five-point outing came on Apr. 9, 2022 at Stony Brook (2 G, 3 A).
  • Jack Bowie now has five career hat tricks - including two in back-to-back games.
  • With his four assists, Owen Corry's active point streak has now reached 16 games.

PROGRAM PROGRESS

  • NJIT's previous high for season wins came in 2019, with victories over Monmouth at home and Hampton on the road. Saturday's win equals that total with seven more opportunities to eclipse it this year, including three at home.
  • As a startup program, it took three seasons (2015-17) and 40 games for NJIT to capture its second win. Under new coach Eric Wolf, the Highlanders have met that mark in six. 

NEXT UP
NJIT opens its America East schedule on Saturday, March 18 at 12 p.m. against two-time defending America East champion Vermont in Newark.