Sam Kuhn

Down 12-11 with :21 left in regulation, Alma College's Jake Ellens came through with the game-tying – and overtime-forcing – goal with :07 remaining before Alma's Chase Hunyadi clinched the 13-12 victory over The College of Wooster just over one minute into overtime a back-and-forth thriller on Wednesday night at Bahlke Field in Alma, Mich.

At the first break, Wooster (4-5, 1-0 North Coast Athletic Conference) enjoyed a 4-1 lead behind three unanswered goals from junior Alexander Bloom (14:35), sophomore Joe Altieri (11:33) and junior Sam Kuhn (9:22) and an end-of-the-period tally from senior and leading goal scorer Josh Herold (2:08).

Alma (6-2) turned the tables in the second and third quarters, posting 4-2 scorelines in each stanza in favor of the Scots from Alma.

In the second, senior CJ Polak and junior Aidan Crowe brought the Wooster lead to five (6-1) with goals less than two minutes apart, but the Scots answered with four straight, including goals from both Jared Nycz (7:50) and Austin Jordan (7:00) coming just 50 seconds apart.

Ellens capped off the half's scoring with a late-quarter tally – a situation that came to repeat itself later on – to cut the Alma deficit to one (6-5) heading into halftime.

In the third, Herold connected on his second and final goal of the game, but only after an additional three from the opposing Scots in addition to an unassisted goal from Kuhn, who finished with six points (3 goals, 3 assists) before all was said and done. By the end of the third chapter, Alma had retaken the lead, 9-8.

However, Wooster, always the hearty bunch, retook the lead despite going down two early on in the fourth.

For Alma, it was again a Nycz-to-Hunyadi connection that gave them a 10-8 lead with 12:26 left to play.

In response and a dramatic one at that, Kuhn halved the Alma advantage on a helper from Herold after a double-penalty call on Alma's Ben Luzar and Charlie Przybylo granted the Scots a man-up opportunity. Of note, it was the Scots' lone advantage goal as Wooster went 1-for-9 on man-up situations.

Just over a minute later, Crowe found the cage for the fifth time in two games, this time marking the equalizer to bring the scoreline level at 10.

It took over six minutes for either team to answer. Feeling the momentum shift in their favor, Wooster applied the pressure appropriately, forcing Alma goalkeeper Cam Stelljes to make three tie-preserving saves before Wooster's own Wesley Wagner, a first-year 'keeper, came up with a big save before finding the solace of the post after a shot from Alma's Hunyadi.

Yet, the Scots of Alma were not finished as Daniel Buchy capitalized with his lone goal of the night at the 4:42 mark to bring Alma ahead, 11-10.

After almost three quiet minutes on the goal front, Wooster's Bloom and Polak notched two unanswered goals within a 56-second span, as the Scots held a 12-11 advantage with :55 remaining.

On the ensuing faceoff, Alma's Ben Luzar swept in for the groundball as Alma drew up one more opportunity with :37 left to play. With Wooster's Jack Gilio kneeling for a called tripping penalty 16 ticks later, Alma found itself on a man-up opportunity for the tie, and convert they did as Hunyadi found Ellens with seven seconds left to force overtime.

Overtime opened with a quick trio of turnovers, as Alma eventually gained possession after a Wooster timeout. Twenty-three seconds into the offensive possession, Alma notched the game winner behind Hunyadi's game-high fourth goal.

Wooster, which came into the game ranked fifth in NCAA Div. III in caused turnovers per game (13.63), totaled eight on the night, led by Wagner's three.

Junior Erik Barroso picked up a season-best eight groundballs, as did Gilio who tied his season-best.

Alma's Stelljes finished with 18 saves, with seven of them coming against senior Matt Parmelee, who placed seven of his nine attempts on cage while both Kuhn and Herold finished with a team-best three assists. Wagner ended with 11 saves on 24 shots faced.

Up next, Wooster hosts Hiram College (2-2, 0-1 NCAC) on Saturday, March 25 at 4 p.m.