WINCHESTER, Va. – A three-goal run late in the fourth quarter was enough for the Marymount (Va.) University men's lacrosse team to push past Shenandoah University on Wednesday night, as freshman Bryan Mcmanus marked his fourth game this season with at least three goals on the game-winning finish at the 2:38 mark. 

The game remained tight throughout the full 60 minutes with neither team holding more than a two-goal advantage at any point in the contest. 

Shenandoah struck first in the game, connecting less than four minutes into the start. But it was the Saints who took the lead to the first break, cashing in on two finishes in the final seven minutes in the first quarter. Senior Matt Justice dished out a helper to Mcmanus for the tying goal before sophomore Nathan Beard found Mcmanus eight yards in front of the goal for a sidearm shot and low finish with 1:30 remaining to give MU a 2-1 lead into the next 15-minute stretch. 

The second quarter played in favor of the Hornets, outscoring the Saints, 4-2, to carry a 5-4 advantage into the half. SU opened the quarter with a goal to draw things even, but freshman Dylan Handel found sophomore Dylan Watkins two minutes later for the goal to regain the lead for the Saints. Shenandoah gathered some momentum for a good chunk of the remainder of the quarter, putting together a three-goal stretch to put it ahead, 5-3, before senior Greg Garner dished off a pass to Mcmanus for the finish to cut off the Hornet run. 

By the end of the third quarter, the Saints drew the score even at 7-7. SU connected first on the restart to push its advantage back to two, 6-4, until senior Maxwell Johnson and Justice both fired off unassisted shots to knot the score up again. With 9:37 remaining in the quarter, Shenandoah regained the lead but quickly found itself down a man several minutes later after an illegal body check. The Saints capitalized on the one-minute extra-man opportunity when Justice found Beard for the goal and a 7-7 game headed into the final 15 minutes. 

In the opening nine minutes, the Hornets rallied for a 10-8 lead after a 3-1 run, but the Saints didn't back down in the closing five minutes. With 4:26 remaining, Johnson gave Marymount life with his second unassisted finish of the game to pull the Saints within one. Just 16 seconds later, the score was all tied up at 10-10 when freshman Matthew Ebert sent a pass to Justice for the tying finish. 

Junior Nick Hohman dropped down for the faceoff on the restart, winning the ball cleanly to give the Saints a chance to win the game. Following a timeout by MU, the ball was put into Mcmanus' stick. Finding room on the right side of the net, the freshman in traffic quickly turned to fire a high shot past the keeper's outreached stick for the game-winning goal. 

A violation on the next faceoff gave the Hornets one last opportunity in the final two minutes to draw the score even and send it into extra time, but the defense locked down including two big plays by freshman goalkeeper Grey Clarkson, who caused a turnover and made a critical save in the last-ditch effort to seal up the 11-10 victory. 

Mcmanus finished with a game-high four goals, while Justice added two goals and two assists for four points. Freshman John Kailunas III registered a game-high two caused turnovers, while freshman Steve Ferrigno scooped up a game-high six groundballs. 

Clarkson earned his second collegiate win in the net, turning away five shots in his 30 minutes of play. 

The men will return home to get back into Capital Athletic Conference play on Saturday, March 19 with a battle against Christopher Newport University. First faceoff is set for 1 p.m., at Long Bridge Park.