Exeter 9  Navy Prep 10 (OT)
Wed, 4/30, Exeter, NH - Despite a furious 2nd half comeback fueled by great intensity and some heroic play, Exeter suffered another disappointing sudden death overtime loss to the Navy Prep today. This was definitely a game of two different halves for Exeter. In the first half, Exeter played tentatively, we were intimidated by Navy's size, speed, and hard-hitting style, and the result was Navy controlling the ball and the score. Despite scoring in the first minute on a Gavin Nurick cut and a nice feed from Tom Petty, Exeter would eventually trail by 3-2 after the 1st quarter. Navy was controlling the ground balls, the faceoffs, and effectively attacking the RED defense with two very good offensive middies who will surely be playing for the Naval Academy next year. Exeter was taken out of their game, and only some great saves by goalie Julian Rodier kept the game within reach at halftime. The 2nd half was like a different team emerged from the Exeter locker room. Exeter became the aggressor in every aspect of the game, and surprisingly put Navy on the defensive, and forced them into mistakes. Led offensively by Mike Hines and Tom Petty, Exeter scored four unanswered 3rd quarter goals to turn a halftime deficit of 7-4 into an 8-7 lead after the 3rd quarter. Exeter was now hustling all over the field, coming up with all the groundballs, and had great momentum. Navy finally got on the scoreboard to tie the game at the 9-minute mark of the 4th period after being shutout for 17 consecutive minutes of play!! The defense of Wiley Dornseif, Stew Stout, Will Tuttle, and Tom Rubel were playing great lacrosse in front of a hot Julian Rodier. The game remained 8-8 until Exeter was called for a 30-second penalty hold with three minutes to play. After effectively killing off the penalty, a loose ball ensued to the left of the goal, and one of Navy's "top guns" emerged from the pack with the ball and rifled home a difficult angled shot. To make matters worse, Exeter was called for a slash on the play, and would now be a man down, a goal behind, and only 2:30 left on the clock. Exeter killed the penalty, and then pressed Navy hard into a bad pass to give it back to Exeter with about one minute to play. A long full field pass from the Exeter defensive end line resulted in a mad scramble for the ball on the Exeter offensive side near the midline. Tom Petty made an incredible play to emerge from the pack with the ball, and then he took off running for his life from the Navy long poles towards the Exeter back line. Just at the right moment, he surprised his defender by cutting back towards the goal, beat him to the inside, and scored to tie the game. No significant opportunities occurred for either team in the time remaining in regulation, so it meant Exeter's second sudden death overtime situation in a row. Navy controlled the faceoff, but Exeter stopped them and cleared to their offensive zone. Navy slashed an Exeter player to cause a penalty flag to fly and Suresh Jones just missed ending the game on a hard bounce shot on the "slow whistle" opportunity. Unfortunately, Exeter's man-up offense, which had been very effective in their other opportunities, turned the ball over before generating a quality shot. This would turn out to be a huge mistake since Navy cleared the ball, and was able to call time out to set up an offensive play to win the game. Coming out of the timeout, a Navy attackman started with the ball at the top of the restraining box, made a move to his strong hand, and scored on a hard bounce shot from about 15 yards to end the game. Hopefully, two tough overtime losses against high quality opponents will only make the Exeter team that more determined to get back on the winning track this Saturday. Click here to see game pictures

Team	1st quarter	2nd quarter	3rd quarter	4th quarter	1st OT	Game Total
Exeter	2	2	4	1	0	9
Navy Prep	3	4	0	2	1	10

Game Scoring - Goals - Hines(4), Petty(2), Smith, Nurick, Jones

                           Assists - Petty(2), Jones(2), Smith, Hines

Saves/Shots on Goal - Rodier 17/27