Vikings Defeat Union 9-8 in Quadruple OT to Win First Region XIX Championship!

Toms River, NJ - The Ocean County College Men's Lacrosse team defeated top-seeded Union County College, 9-8, in thrilling quadruple overtime on Sunday to capture the NJCAA Region XIX Championship. The win marks the first region championship for OCC's lacrosse program, which is in the midst of its third season.

Ocean and Union last met on April 15 in a close game that the Owls won, 10-8, and this rematch was predicted to be a hard-fought battle. The game delivered on the predictions and then some, as the teams played through nearly 16 overtime minutes before establishing a winner. Kiernan Quinn, coming off an impressive 1st round game against Delaware Tech CC (4 goals, 5 assists), opened scoring for the Vikings in this game with a goal at 12:30 of the 1st quarter (assisted by Tyler Kalmowitz). Cole Weber and Stephen Gillespie would provide the tying and go-ahead goals for Union, who took a 2-1 lead into the 2nd quarter. Ocean seemed to pull away in the 3rd quarter, establishing a two-goal lead at 8-6, but Gillespie's two unanswered goals for the Owls in the 4th brought the game to an 8-8 tie as time expired in regulation. Then with just 2:37 remaining in the fourth overtime period, Nick Siciliano converted a pass from Kiernan Quinn to end the game and secure the Region XIX Championship for the Vikings. OCC freshman defenseman Joe Jinks was named the tournament's Most Valuable Player in a postgame ceremony.  

The #6 Vikings now move on to the NJCAA Championship Quarterfinals, to be held on Saturday, May 6 at higher-seeded #3 Howard Community College in Columbia, MD. Game start is 1 p.m.