Seminoles Win 12-11 Thriller Over Georgia

    For most of the game, it looked like Sunday would not be Florida State’s day.  The Seminoles trailed the Georgia Bulldogs for most of the game before scoring three goals in the closing moments to earn a 12-11 comeback win and move to 2-0 on the season.     The Bulldogs led the Seminoles for most of the game behind five goals from attackman Watson Bryant and twenty-four saves from goalie Matt Smith.  The Bulldogs led 6-3 at halftime, and 8-6 after three quarters.  Midway through the fourth quarter, Seminole attackman Corey Noonan (3g) scored on a pass from Patrick Haley (2a) to tie the game at nine.  Georgia retook the lead on goals from Bryant (5g) and Kevin Magyar (3g).     With just under three minutes to go, the Bulldogs went on extra man offense with a two-goal lead.  The Seminoles killed the penalty and gained possession of the ball with just over two minutes remaining.  Seminole midfielder Todd Matherly (2g, 3a) scored on a pass from Dave Siegel (2g, 2a) to bring the Tribe within one.  Lance Dunning (15 faceoff wins in 19 attempts) won the ensuing faceoff for the Seminoles, and Grover Light (1g, 2a) found a cutting Nick Geppert (2g, 1a), whose game-tying shot was partially blocked by Smith before trickling over the goal line.     Dunning was again able to gain control of the faceoff, and the Seminoles called a timeout with 47 seconds left in the game.  With time running out, Noonan took control of the ball on the right wing and fired a shot past Smith with just six seconds left to give the Seminoles a thrilling 12-11 comeback victory.     "The game could have gone either way," said FSU Head Coach Bill Harkins, "Georgia deserved to win as much as we did."  Harkins, a former goalie, was impressed by the play of UGA goalie Matt Smith.  "It was one of the most impressive goaltending exhibitions I’ve witnessed in my four years at Florida State," said the Seminole Head Coach.     "That was one of the most exciting games I’ve been a part of," said Seminole long stick midfielder Chris Cecil, "and it’s a huge win because it was against a really good SELC opponent."       Florida State Assistant Coach Rory Whipple was excited about the way the Seminoles were able to respond in difficult circumstances.  "We showed a lot of guts and determination," said Whipple.  "It’s tough to play back to back games on wet grass, but our conditioning was really good," he continued, "and it’s really something to fight back to tie the game, fall behind again, and then come back and win it in regulation."          The Seminoles return to action this coming Saturday at Auburn University.  For more information on Florida State lacrosse, please visit FSULacrosse.com ** GAME SUMMARY ** SCORING BY QUARTER FSU: 1 2 3 6 – 12 UGA: 3 3 2 3 – 11 GOALS FSU: Noonan-3, Siegel-2, Campbell-2, Matherly-2, Geppert-2, Light-1 UGA: Bryant-5, Magyar-3, McGahan-2, O’Berry-1 ASSISTS FSU: Matherly-3, Light-2, Siegel-2, P Haley-2, Geppert-1 UGA: McGahan-2, Battay-2, Cox-2, Fieschow-1, Rollins-1 SHOTS BY QUARTER FSU: 8 11 17 11 – 47 UGA: 15 15 7 12 – 49 GROUND BALLS BY QUARTER FSU: 17 13 17 14 – 61 UGA: 16 9 10 11 – 46 FACEOFFS (WON-TOTAL) FSU: 21-26 (Team)    Dunning 15-19    Lombard 6-7 UGA: 5-26 (Team)    Boland 4-23    Houghton 1-3