(Marcy, N.Y.). – Freshman Garrett DiTullio (Potsdam, N.Y.) scored with seven seconds left in double overtime lifting the SUNY Canton men’s lacrosse team to a 13-12 win over SUNYIT Saturday afternoon in Marcy, N.Y.

Both teams are no strangers to overtime thrillers, as it took three extra periods in last year’s meeting for the Roos to top the Wildcats 17-16 on a goal by senior Rob Gleason (Vestal, N.Y.) with 20 seconds left in the third overtime. SUNY Canton ran their winning streak to three games with Saturday’s victory and moved above .500 with a 4-3 overall mark.

The fact that SUNYIT even had a chance late in the game on Saturday is incredible given the events of the first quarter. The Roos ended the first 15 minutes up 6-1, and appeared to be firing on all cylinders with five different players scoring in the quarter, including sophomore Jason Thompson (Massena, N.Y.), who netted both of his goals on the day in the first quarter.

The Wildcats came to life in the second quarter when Tyler Serva scored two quick goals and Kevin Gardrvits netted three scores that capped off a 6-0 SUNYIT run and gave the home team a 7-6 advantage going into the locker room.

In the second half the Roos evened things up straightaway on a goal by sophomore Ryan Cardiff (Albany, N.Y.) just three minutes into the second half. The teams essentially battled to a draw in the third tied 8-8 heading into the final 15 minutes of regulation.

Saturday’s fourth quarter is where the fireworks really began. After a goal by junior Tanner Pratt (Canton, N.Y.) gave SUNY Canton their first lead since the first half, the Wildcats rattled off three straight scores to take an 11-9 lead.

With 4:03 remaining in the game, the Wildcats Brett Gifford made what would have been the play of the game had things turned out differently for the Wildcats. Gifford faked a pass in a man-up position before planting his feet and firing a rocket into the top shelf of the Canton goal. The play gave the Wildcats a 12-10 advantage and looked to possibly send them on to victory. But the Roos had other thoughts when senior Patrick Connelly (Chittenango, N.Y.) scored with 2:50 on the clock, and then Pratt broke free netting the tying goal with 1:27 left.

In the first overtime period, Wildcats goalie Jeffrey Melnik kept his team in the game with four saves in a less than a minute as the Roos fired shot after shot on goal. After SUNYIT regained possession after one of those shots, SUNY Canton junior goalie Corey Spuck (Rochester, N.Y.), who had 18 saves, was poised to make several big stops on the other end of the field. Spuck added two more saves in the second overtime, allowing DiTullio to break free for the game-winner with just seven ticks on the clock.

DiTullio finished with one goal and two assists. Pratt ended the day with a season-high four goals. Connelly had two goals and two assists, and Gleason and Cardiff added two goals apiece.

Gardrvits led the Wildcats with five goals and one assist. Serva finished with three goals and two assists, and Melnik ended his stellar day with 14 saves.

The Roos will go look to keep their winning streak alive when they travel to play Mount St. Mary’s College at RPI on April 3.