ORANGE, Calif. – The BYU Men’s Lacrosse team (5-0) won in double overtime against the Chapman University Panthers (2-1) on Saturday night in Orange, Calif. BYU had never won at Chapman in the history of the two teams meeting.
Chapman used an aggressive defense to their advantage in the first half of the game. BYU struggled to maintain possession of the ball, allowing for Chapman to outscore the Cougars 9-4 in the first half of the game.
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During the second half, the Cougars were able to hold Chapman to only scoring two points, while BYU attempted to make a comeback.
With three minutes left, the Cougars were down 11-8. A tremendous effort from the BYU offense brought the game to 11-10 with only 12 seconds left.
Coming off a time out, BYU passed the ball trying to find the right angle, until senior Drew Shumway scored with one second remaining on the clock, leading the teams into overtime.
The overtime possessions were as aggressive as the entire game, and neither team was able to score. Double overtime brought more energy and anxiety from the crowd while both teams were determined to win.
With the second overtime almost halfway over, a pass from Shumway to junior Pat Matheson for a goal secured the game for the Cougars. BYU won at Chapman for the first time with a score of 12-11.
“It was a battle,” Matheson said. “One important thing here was keeping our heads in the game, and never giving up. It came to overtime and I just thought, ‘If it comes to me, I can do this, if it goes to one of my teammates, I trust them to be able to do it.’”
Chapman Head Coach Dallas Hartley said he was impressed with BYU’s resolve to win the game.
“We’re a very young team, and they’re a very veteran team,” Hartley said. “We hope that this experience will help us down the line.”
Hartley added that his team plans on using Sunday to rest before they face the University of Utah at Chapman on Monday.
BYU Head Coach Matt Schneck said the game was exciting, but that it also presented a challenge for the Cougars, who played their fifth game in 10 days.
“We’re so excited about the win tonight,” Schneck said. “We saw the ball move behind the cage and get to Pat [Matheson], and we had all the confidence in the world that he would get a great shot.”
BYU will use Sunday to rest before their final game in California against Cal Poly in San Luis Obispo on Monday afternoon. The game will be at 2:00 p.m. PST and a live commentary feed will be available at www.byulacrosse.com.
