Freshman Kyle Farris scored with 2:19 left in overtime to give the Muhlenberg men’s lacrosse team a thrilling 12-11 win over Montclair State.

Freshman Tim Martin won the opening faceoff of overtime cleanly, allowing the Mules (4-1) to quickly move into the offensive zone. Muhlenberg spent just under three minutes passing the ball around, waiting

The fifth Muhlenberg player to record a hat trick this season, Farris is fifth on the team with seven goals.

for its best opportunity for a shot on goal until Farris connected for the game-winner, his third goal of the game.

“I got the ball up high,” said Farris. “I drove to the right and got past the defender using my right hand and shot the ball low and away.”

Muhlenberg would have never gotten to overtime if not for some drama in the fourth period. The Mules led 10-8 in the fourth before the Red Hawks (1-4) scored three consecutive goals in 1:33, the last of which gave Montclair State an 11-10 edge with only 7:40 left.

The Mules desperately tried to get the equalizer. With under a minute remaining, Montclair State had possession on the Mules’ side of the field trying to run out the clock. Senior Bradley Lutzer forced a turnover and picked up the ground ball, quickly running past midfield. He passed it off to sophomore Cliff Burwell, who found junior James Robinson open in front of the Montclair State goal for the tying score with only 26.6 seconds left.

Early on, it looked like the Mules would not need any late-game heroics. Two goals by junior John Westendorf and another by sophomore Sean Toohill gave the Mules a 3-0 advantage less than five minutes in. Muhlenberg was held to only one more goal in the opening half, however, while Montclair State rattled off six goals to take a 6-4 lead at halftime.

For the fourth time in five games, the Mules played an outstanding third period. Muhlenberg scored the first five goals of the frame before the Red Hawks answered with two in the closing minutes of the period to set the stage for the fantastic finish.

Freshman Mike Brown added two goals for the Mules, and Martin won seven of nine faceoffs and collected seven groundballs.

The Mules are 4-0 in overtime games the last three years.

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