Elizabethtown, PA – Stockton University (8-3) dominated the fourth quarter to complete a comeback from an early four-goal deficit and top Elizabethtown (5-7) 12-9 for its fifth straight win. The Ospreys outscored the Blue Jays 5-0 in the final period. Goalkeeper
Justin Ruiz (Holmdel/Holmdel) made a season-high 15 saves in the victory.
Stockton was outshot 20-4 in the first quarter but Ruiz made six saves to keep a 5-1 deficit from becoming a possibly insurmountable disadvantage.
Joey Tiernan (Voorhees/Eastern) scored the lone goal for the Ospreys in the period.
Stockton gained a foothold with three straight tallies in the second quarter, one each by
Erik Anderson (Monroe Twp./Monroe Twp.),
Zack Aho (Shamong/Seneca) and
Eric Ellis (Voorhees/Eastern) to get within 5-4. Elizabethtown countered with two markers of its own in the last 3:38 for a 7-4 margin at the half.
Ellis potted two straight to open the second-half scoring and
Tommy Gallo (Clinton/North Hunterdon) pulled the Ospreys into a short-lived 7-7 tie. Just 41 seconds later, the Blue Jays went back on top 8-7, and they added another goal late in the period to put Stockton down 9-7 after three.
The Ospreys scored on five of their seven shots in the fourth quarter to rally for the win. Defender
Colin Wharton (Cinnaminson/Camden Catholic) started the barrage 57 seconds into the period. The teams went scoreless for nearly seven minutes, with Ruiz making three saves in that time, until Ellis tossed in his game-high fourth goal to tie the contest 9-9 with 7:12 to play.
Aho gave Stockton the lead for good with a rare man-down goal two minutes later. Tiernan and Gallo provided the Ospreys with some breathing room by each scoring their second counter of the game in the last two-and-a-half minutes to seal Stockton's fifth straight win, 12-9.
In addition to his two goals, Gallo also dished three assists to finish with five points.
Chris Holleritter (Oak Ridge/Jefferson Twp.) played another strong game on defense, contributing a team-high seven ground balls plus two caused turnovers.
Stockton will have nearly a week off before hosting St. Joseph's-Long Island on April 17 at 7 pm.
