Hart's Late Game Heroics Spark Howell in Opening Day Win

When the Howell Rebels took to the road on Saturday to kick off their lacrosse season, the game against East Brunswick may not have started off the way they wanted to, but in the end their perseverance got them through the day. After a back and forth battle with the home team Bears, The Howell squad held on for an 11-10 overtime win.

With the Rebels on their heels early in the fourth quarter, senior captain Rob Hart took advantage of the man-up and netted much needed goal for his team. After holding a 6-5 lead at halftime, the Rebels gave up four straight goals while being shut out in the third quarter. Hart's goal forced a momentum shift that Howell soon took advantage of.

"We just kept believing in ourselves," said Howell head coach Derek Reichenbecher, speaking about the fourth quarter comeback, "We kept chipping away. We caught some breaks too, but we earned them with the hard work. Our transistion game was much better than it was in the third quarter as well."

A minute and a half after Hart ducked under defenders to trim the lead to 9-7, Ryan Dambach found his brother Alec just outside the crease who scored to make it a one goal game. It was just 40 seconds later on the man-up advantage once again, that Ryan King hit Kevin Scott for a game tying goal. With those scores the Rebels erased what had been a three goal lead for the home team.

The game was not tied for long, however. Just 36 seconds after Scott's goal, the Bears once again took the lead with six minutes to play. The Rebels looked like they were in position to tie the game with 1:06 to go before a costly turnover kept the Bears in the lead.

That is when the hard work and hustling Reichenbecher preaches paid off. The Rebel's attackmen put an incredible amount of pressure on the Bears, eventually forcing a turnover. Thanks to the defensive effort,  Howell re-gained possession with 50 seconds left.

"We talk about working hard a lot and how it pays off a lot," said Reichenbecher, "It's great when you get to see it pay off like that."

With 35 seconds left, Ryan Dambach once again found his brother Alec, who tied the score at ten, with his fifth goal of the game. In the final seconds, Howell goaltender Nick Schwarz came up with his biggest saves of the day, preserving the 10-10 tie for overtime.

Both teams had one possession in overtime before Midfielder Ryan Dambach drove the length of the field, setting up Rob Hart for the game winning goal. The goal was Hart's third and gave Ryan Dambach his fourth assist of the day.

Rob Hart and Ryan Dambach have a knack for coming up clutch. Hart scored in overtime of a Shore Conference Tournament game last year to upset Jackson Memorial and Ryan Dambach scored the game winner last year in Howell's first ever state playoff victory at Southern last year.

"We have a lot of respect for them," said Reichenbecher, "We knew what we were getting into. Some of our guys had a little bit of jitters, but in the first game of the year that's expected. They worked hard and did the little things you have to do to win."