Lackey's Game-Winner Gives Men's LAX Overtime Win Against BYU

Anthony Lackey '09 scored seven goals, including the game-winner, to lead Whittier College to a 15-14 overtime victory over the Brigham Young University Club team on February 18.  BYU was the preseason Men's Collegiate Lacrosse Association #1 this season after going 20-2 in their 2007 campaign.  The win improves the Poets' record to 2-0 this season.

Lackey was also credited with a pair of assists to go with his seven goals.  He also picked up five groundballs. Alex Chaudry '08 finished with three goals, two assists and a game-high ten groundballs.  Matt Mulry '09 scored three times and grabbed four groundballs.  Christian Wright '10 had three assists and Chuck Wagner '08 had a goal and an assist.  Defender, Dan Aas '08 got in on the scoring action with a goal of his own.  Ben Brown '09 had another great performance in goal.  He made eleven saves, including a number of incredible saves in the fourth quarter to send the game to overtime.

The Poets came out of the gate on fire.  Chaudry got things started 2:15 into the game.  He would score twice in the first quarter as Whittier jumped out to a 5-0 lead.  BYU got on the board with 24 seconds left in the opening frame.

The Cougars made it 5-2 in the first minute of the second quarter.  Chaudry came back with his third goal of the game one minute later, but it would be the last goal of the half for the Poets.  BYU seized the opportunity, rattling off five goals, four on extra-man opportunities, in the last 5:37 of the half and went into the locker room with a 7-6 lead.

The BYU offense stayed hot to open the second half.  They went up by two with another man-up goal at the 11:25 mark of the third quarter.  Lackey scored his second of the day to Whittier back within a goal at 10:10, but BYU quickly answered back with another goal two and a half minutes later.  The teams traded goals once again and entered the final quarter with the Cougars holding a two-goal advantage.

The fourth quarter of the game will now be referred to as, "The Anthony Lackey Show".  He proved why he was amongst the nation's best in 2007, scoring four goals and assisting on two others in the quarter.  He opened the scoring with a goal at the 12:42 mark and then assisted on a Mulry goal one minute later to tie the game.  BYU came back immediately with a pair of goals in thirty seconds to take back their two goal edge.  Lackey scored a man-up goal with 7:10 left, but BYU came back with yet another goal to keep the deficit at two goals.  The Poets finally pulled even on a pair of goals from Lackey at the 3:59 and 2:34 marks, both on assists from Wright.  BYU got the go-ahead goal with 2:14 left, but once again Lackey answered the call.  He got his second assist of the quarter with 1:24 left in regulation when he found an open Mulry for the tying goal.  The game was knotted at 14 heading into overtime.

Both teams had chances early in the four minute overtime period.  Brown stopped a point-blank BYU shot that gave the Poets the ball with just over two minutes to play.  Lackey stepped up one more time, beating a number of Cougar defenders on his way to the cage for the game-winner with 1:27 left in the overtime period. 

The Poets are in action again on February 23, when they face Grand Canyon on the Graham Lacrosse Field.  The showdown starts at 1:00pm.