Junior attack Cameron Marous (Brecksville) scored the game-winning goal on the opening possession of the overtime period Saturday afternoon, giving the Ohio Northern men's lacrosse program a 9-8 victory over nonconference foe Alfred (N.Y.) at Yunevich Stadium.
With the victory, the Polar Bears move to 5-1 overall this season and extend their current win streak to five games. In addition, ONU has now won 12 successive road contests dating back to the 2018 campaign.
Meanwhile, the Saxons drop to 3-1 on the year.
Junior midfielder/faceoff specialist Patrick Moran (Austin, Tex./Bowie) produced a three-goal hat trick to pace the Northern offense. The Austin, Texas native also picked up two ground balls and registered five shots in Saturday's affair.
Marous, senior Noah St. Croix (Irondequoit, N.Y.), and senior Nicholas Groves (Fishers, Ind./Bishop Chatard) notched the remaining six goals, tallying two strikes each on the afternoon.
Defensively, senior defender Drew Fox (Solon) topped the team with three caused turnovers while junior Javon Smith (Baltimore, Md./Dulaney) caused two Saxon turnovers in his first appearance this season.
In the faceoff circle, sophomore Preston Victory (Brentwood, Tenn.) continued his strong campaign with an eight-for-fourteen performance to lead the team.
Meanwhile, senior netminder Alex Pizarro (Boonsboro, Md.) earned his third win in 2019 after recording 10 saves and picking up two ground balls.
Alfred was paced offensively by Joe Fornataro, who recorded a team-high three goals on eight shots.
In the opening stanza, the Polar Bears used a 13-5 shot advantage to rattle off four consecutive goals, jumping out to a 4-0 lead at the first quarter break. Groves kicked off the scoring with a goal at the 11:52 mark before St. Croix, Marous, and Moran padded the early lead.
Groves extended the scoring streak to five in the second quarter with a strike at the 9:47 mark. However, the Saxons began a similar four-goal stretch moments later, including three goals in 39 seconds, cutting the deficit to 5-4 headed into the locker rooms.
The third period saw just one goal scored between the two sides, an Alfred strike from leading scorer Cale Donegan to tie the game at five-all.
Following a back-and-forth start to the fourth quarter, Ohio Northern found themselves down 8-7 with 5:24 left in regulation. With 2:21 remaining, Moran added his second goal to bring the teams level and send the contest to overtime.
In the extra frame, Victory provided ONU the opening possession with a critical faceoff victory. Moments later, senior long-stick middie Matt Sheftall (Austin, Tex./Bowie) found Marous for the game-winning goal just 13 seconds into the stanza.
Ohio Northern held a 42-36 overall shots advantage and a slim 35-33 edge in ground balls during the contest. The Polar Bears finished 15-for-18 in clear attempts while Alfred went 18-for-22.
Northern will return to action on Tuesday evening with a nonconference clash against Wittenberg. Game time is set for 7 p.m. at Dial-Roberson Stadium.
