Peters’ OT goal, DeMott’s clutch saves lead Wall to milestone win over Rumson-Fair Haven

RUMSON – After two close losses last year that saw Wall on the verge of a breakthrough victory, every Crimson Knights player, to a man, had one opponent they were most looking forward to competing against this season: Rumson.

The Shore Conference juggernaut hosted Wall on Saturday afternoon, and when four quarters weren’t enough, overtime produced the biggest victory in the history of Wall’s boys lacrosse program.

Sophomore midfielder Logan Peters cut to the goal from X, dodged around defenders and scored midway through the first overtime period to send the Knights, ranked No. 6 in the Shore Sports Network Top 10, to a heart-pounding 10-9 overtime victory over No. 3 Rumson at Borden Stadium. Wall finally had its signature victory.

“That was great, the best lacrosse moment I’ve ever had,” Peters said. “Especially after losing to them last year in both Shore Conference (Tournament) and states. And it wasn’t just for us, that was for the team last year and everyone else.”

Last season, Rumson defeated Wall, 10-9, in the Shore Conference Tournament quarterfinals and 9-6 in the NJSIAA South Jersey Group 2 semifinals. 

After the game, Sean DeMott struggled to find the words to best describe the biggest victory in the history of Wall’s lacrosse program. It was the only all day the senior goalie had any trouble.

DeMott was outstanding in goal for the Knights (6-1, 3-1) with 18 saves, including six in the fourth quarter. He made stick saves, body saves and even looked like an ice hockey goalie with a couple of kick saves.

“To have a guy like that play big in a game like this; they probably could have bumped (their lead) up to two, three goals and put it out of reach but he makes three or four saves in a row that probably should go in and we’re still in the game fighting,” Peters said.

“I was not myself, I went into, like, berserk mode or something,” DeMott chuckled. “I don’t even know.”

One sequence, in particular, helped change the complexion of the game. In the closing minutes of the first half, DeMott made five straight saves on one Rumson possession to keep the game tied at four. After the fifth stop, Wall went the other way and took a 5-4 lead when Ethan Doyle scored off a pass from Daniel Burns. It was that way all game with DeMott and defensemen Shane Meyler, Charlie Sasso and Jake Pinkerton coming up with crucial stops that Wall’s offense fed on and was able to turn into quick goals several times.

Peters finished with three goals and two assists while Doyle had three goals and one assist to pace Wall’s offense. Ryan Brice added two goals, Burns had one goal and one assist and Matt Dollive scored once.

Rumson was led by juniors Rowan Goldin and Sam Mannino. Goldin scored a game-high five goals and Mannino had three goals and two assists. Harry Ricker added one goal and one assist.

The lead changed hands the entire game with neither team holding more than a two-goal edge. Wall survived an early surge by Rumson thanks to some clutch saves by DeMott and then took a 1-0 lead when Doyle scored off a pass from Kyle Wenzel at the 5:20 mark. Rumson tied the score when Goldin scored off an assist from Mannino and Mannino then went behind the back for a goal exactly one minute later to give the Bulldogs a 2-1 lead. Wall answered with 3.6 seconds left in the first quarter when Brice scored in transition off a pass from Peters.

Burns gave Wall a 3-2 lead early in the second quarter before Mannino took a pass from Ricker and blasted one past DeMott to knot the score at three. Rumson went ahead, 4-3, on Goldin’s second goal of the game at 8:06 but Wall answered when Peters scored a behind-the-back goal at 5:44 to tie it. Then came the sequence where DeMott made five saves in about a one-minute span that led to Doyle’s goal at the other end to give Wall a 5-4 halftime lead.

Wall pushed its lead to 6-4 in the first 90 seconds of the third quarter when Brice whipped a shot into the back of the net off a pass from Peters, marking the first time in the game that either team led by more than one goal. Rumson would answer, however, when Goldin scored completed his hat trick with a laser shot past DeMott and then tied the game at six off a pass from Kiel Forlenza with 3:12 left in the third quarter.

At the 8:54 mark of the fourth, Peters cut across the front of the crease and scored to give Wall a 7-6 lead, and just over a minute later, Doyle scored off a feed from John Knight to give the Knights an 8-6 lead. But just 25 seconds later, Mannino scored his third of the game to trim Wall’s lead to 8-7. The Knights got their two-goal advantage back when Dollive took a pass from Burns and scored with 4:31 left in regulation.

Wall held a 9-7 lead with under two minutes to play, but Rumson answered to tie the game and force overtime. Goldin scored with 1:14 on the clock to make it 9-8 and Rumson won the ensuing face-off to lead to Ricker netting the equalizer with 52.7 seconds left. Wall appeared to have won the game just before the buzzer but Peters was called for a crease violation.

In the extra period, Tommy Swain won the face-off to give Rumson possession, but a check by Meyler behind the net forced a turnover and gave Wall the ball. Peters did the rest to end a fantastic game and give provide Wall with its milestone moment.

“Based on the 10-9 score last year we knew we could beat them,” DeMott said. “We were so close both times and this year I think we all wanted Rumson the most out of any team. We all just came out as hard as we could and worked our butts off.

“We’re young and not deep, but we’re tough and gritty,” said Wall head coach Chris Knight. “They believed.”

Box Score

No. 6 Wall 10, No. 3 Rumson-Fair Haven 9 (OT) 

GOALS – W: Logan Peters 3, Ethan Doyle 3, Ryan Brice 2, Daniel Burns, Matt Dollive; RFH: Rowan Goldin 5, Sam Mannino 3, Harry Ricker 1.

ASSISTS – W: Logan Peters 2, Daniel Burns, John Knight, Kyle Wenzel; RFH: Sam Mannio 2, Harry Ricker, Kiel Forlenza.

SAVES – W: Sean DeMott 18; RFH: Ryan Croddick 5, Doug Duprey 2.

SHOTS: Rumson, 33-23.

Managing editor Bob Badders can be reached at bob.badders@townsquaremedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @Bob_Badders. Like Shore Sports Network on Facebook and subscribe to our YouTube channel for all the latest video highlights.