RINDGE, N.H. - Saint Michael's College men's lacrosse junior Sean Murphy (Medway, Mass./Medway) forced a turnover deep in the Franklin Pierce University end before potting the winning goal 55 seconds into overtime in a 13-12 Northeast-10 Conference victory on Tuesday at Sodexo Field.
 
During the contest, senior Sebastian Simonson (Spruce Grove, Alberta/Spruce Grove Composite) became the first Purple Knight to reach the 200-point plateau for his career, and the 20th in NE10 history.
 
RECORDS

• Saint Michael's (7-5, 2-5 NE10), Franklin Pierce (2-9, 1-6 NE10)

SAINT MICHAEL'S LEADERS

• Simonson, 4 goals, 3 assists, 4 ground balls
• Murphy, 3 goals, 5 ground balls
• Senior Cristian Reyes (Norwell, Mass./Xaverian Brothers), 3 goals, 1 assist, 3 ground balls
• Sophomore Thomas Cahill (Georgetown, Mass./Georgetown), 2 goals, 1 assist
• Senior Ethan Hughes (Trumbull, Conn./Trumbull), 1 goal, 1 assist
• Senior Sean Regan (Pittsford, N.Y./Pittsford Sutherland), 10 saves
• Senior Cooper Wilson (Niskayuna, N.Y./Niskayuna), 16-for-25 faceoffs, 9 ground balls
• First-year Kevin Greabell (Kings Park, N.Y./Kings Park), 3 caused turnovers

OPPONENT LEADERS

• Sophomore Everett Hillman, 3 goals
• Senior Jackson Hale, 1 goal, 2 assists
• Senior Mike Masterpolo, 15 saves, 3 ground balls

GAME FACTS

• Simonson is now tied for 16th in NE10 history in career goals (132) and 17th in points (206). He moved into fourth in program annals in career assists (74), passing Mike Simonelli '96 (73), and his 27 helpers this season are two shy of Simonelli's 30-year-old school record. Simonson also has 61 points, within two of a program standard shared by Mike Riddell '88 (1988) and Matt Pagen '95 (1993). He is only the fifth Purple Knight to ever tally 60 points in a season.
• Wilson moved into eighth in NE10 history in career ground balls (351), only three short of seventh place.
• Reyes' 36 goals this season are good for a tie for eighth in program annals.

THE ACTION

• Franklin Pierce led 2-0 by 11:47 of the opening quarter before Reyes and Simonson both tallied twice to sandwich a Raven marker, giving Saint Michael's a 4-3 edge by 11:45 of the second period.
• After Hale tied the game at 10:01, Simonson assisted Hughes at 8:54 before scoring himself 1:35 later to make it 6-4.
• Three different players scored in a go-ahead 3-0 run by the hosts, and Cahill's tying man-up marker 40 seconds into the third period was met by Hillman's go-ahead strike at 11:47.
• Murphy's pair of goals keyed a 5-1 run that provided Saint Michael's a 12-9 lead by 12:20 of the fourth stanza.
• Hillman found the net at 6:46 before the Ravens scored twice in the final 44 seconds of regulation, with first-year Jake Cusson tallying first before sophomore long-stick Nick Sawyer found the equalizer after staying in the attack zone following playing a part in winning the faceoff.
• Wilson won the ensuing draw and fed Reyes, whose last-gasp effort was denied by Masterpolo, ensuring overtime.
• Wilson captured the lone faceoff in overtime, giving Saint Michael's a chance to win it on the first possession, but Masterpolo denied the Purple Knights' first shot and initiated a clear attempt. However, Murphy forced a giveaway by a defender just outside the crease, scooped the ground ball and beat the netminder high at the 55-second mark for the sudden-victory winner.

NEXT SAINT MICHAEL'S GAME

• Friday at No. 13 Bentley University, 2 p.m.
• The Falcons' national ranking is according to the United States Intercollegiate Lacrosse Association (USILA).