PATCHOGUE, NY – Sage battled St. Joseph's (Long Island) to a tie after 120 minutes of play in the opening weekend of Skyline play.
In a slow first half, senior Alex Lanza teed off the first shot of the game in the 23rd minute, but it was blocked by a Golden Eagle player.
St. Joseph's (1-5-1, 0-0-1 Skyline) countered a few minutes later on their best opportunity of the half. However, goalie TJ Zehner saved a Gaetano Innamorato free kick from 25 yards out.
After 20 minutes of back and forth action, the score remained 0-0 going into the second half.
The Golden Eagles came out strong in the second half getting off four shots and two corner kicks in the first 20 minutes before Kyle LeClerc shot a header just wide of the St. Joseph's goal.
It looked as though Sage (3-2-2, 0-0-1 Skyline) would come up with a goal in the 74th minute, but Joe Diano's header off a Kevin Saar corner was denied by Eagle goalie Avery Gomez.
St. Joseph's countered within seconds on a shot by Justin Heredia, but Zehner came up with his third save of the game.
After 90 minutes of play, the two teams took the field to battle in overtime.
St. Joseph's made the first strike of overtime with a blocked shot from Brian O'Sullivan in the 93rd minute.
With the score still at gridlock going into the second overtime, LeClerc got off his second header of the game off a Lanza corner in the 100th minute, but it went wide.
St. Joseph's staged one last attack in the last minute of overtime with two corners. Nevertheless, the Gator defense held strong to ensure the tie.
Zehner, who currently has the most shutouts in the Skyline, came up with four saves while Gomez saved two shots.
The Golden Eagles outshot the Gators 13-8.
Sage is currently in 5th place with St. Joseph's following in 6th.
Sage is set to travel to Southern Vermont on Wed., Sept. 23 for a break in conference play. Kickoff is 4:00 p.m.
