Senior Greg Gibbons (Baldwinsville, NY), named a first-team Liberty League All-Star for the third straight year on Thursday, was not ready to see his collegiate career for the Clarkson University Lacrosse team come to a close on Friday. Led by a six-goal effort from their all-star attackman, the Golden Knights edged Skidmore College 14-13 in the first round of the Liberty League Tournament in Saratoga Springs.
The number three seed in the conference postseason, Clarkson, at 10-4 overall, will battle regular season champion St. Lawrence (11-3) in Canton on Sunday in the Liberty League Tournament title game, beginning at 12 noon. The winner of Sunday’s game earns an automatic berth in the NCAA Tournament.
Trailing 13-12 with less than two minutes to play, Gibbons lifted the Green and Gold into the championship game by recording the final two tallies of the contest to give the Knights the one-goal victory. Clarkson’s third all-time leading scorer connected for the tying goal with 78 seconds remaining and then came through with the game-winner with just six seconds left in regulation.
Gibbons has 56 points, including 47 goals through 14 games this season, and has amassed 212 career points, including 148 goals.
Clarkson led 4-2 after the first, but Skidmore (9-6) out scored the Knights 3-1 in the second to make it 5-5 through the first 30 minutes. Both teams tallied four goals apiece in the third stanza.
The Knights appeared to take control early in the fourth quarter, holding a 12-10 lead with eight minutes to play. A man-down marker, however, by the Thoroughbreds Matt Levesque, his 50th tally of the season, with 3:10 remaining started a three-goal run by Skidmore, which put the home team on top 13-10 with 2:05 left on the clock.
Clarkson, however, was able to battle back behind the two unassisted goals from its leading scorer to earn the right to continue its season. After Gibbons tied the score 13-13, the Thoroughbreds won the ensuing faceof and Levesque, who scored all of his team-high four goals in the second half, rifled a shot off the post that went out of bounds with 34 seconds to play. The Knights were able to quickly get the ball up field to Gibbons, who moved the from behind the Skidmore net for a point-blank goal and the 14-13 win.
The tight game featured four lead changes and nine ties.
Senior Brian Hoey (Auburn, NY) and sophomore Tyler Long (Liverpool, NY), also named 2009 Liberty League All-Stars, scored two goals apiece. Hoey, a first-team selection, also tallied two assists for a four-point effort. Freshman Bryan Huff (Hillsborough, NJ) chipped in three points (1-2). Seniors Tom Ross (Adams, NY), Erik Hilfinger (Ann Arbor, MI) and Andrew Bachman (Queensbury, NY) netted one goal each.
The Thoroughbreds out shot the Knights 43-39 and held a 35-30 edge in ground balls. Senior John Szvoren (Hamburg, NY) made 16 saves, including 12 stops in the second half, for the Green and Gold. First-team conference all-star, senior defenseman Andrew Kott (Auburn, NY) picked up a team-high five ground balls for Clarkson.
St. Lawrence edged Clarkson during the regular season 10-7 on April 15 at Potsdam H.S.
