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Waffle scores 8, Mann cracks century mark in JU OT win

Written by Lee Roggenburg on . Posted in .
From JUdolphins.com JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – Freshman Ari Waffle scored a school-record eight goals, midfielder Cameron Mann became the first JU player to break the 100-point mark and the two combined on the tying and winning goals as Jacksonville beat VMI 13-12 in overtime Saturday. The Dolphins (4-4, 1-1) picked up their first Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference win in a game that included a 58 minute delay because of lightning. Waffle hit the winning goal with 2:38 to play in overtime when Mann hit him with a pass for a score. The play was set up by a caused turnover and ground ball from Will Crenshaw that took the ball from JU’s defensive zone to the winning play. “It was the first time I had a short stick defender on me so I was just trying to drive to the net,” Mann said of the game-winner. “I saw Ari in there and kind of lobbed it to him and he did the rest.” Waffle had a similar view. “I was sort of in the middle and cut toward Cam,” he said. “He rolled around and my defender slid to him, I stepped back, he lobbed it to me and I had a one on one.” Waffle, from Manlius, N.Y., and Mann connected on a similar pass and shoot with 1:50 to play in regulation to tie the game at 12. Waffle’s goals smashed the previous school record of five set by three players, including current attacker TJ Kenary. His nine points also set a school record breaking the previous mark of seven. Mann, who entered the game with 98 career points, didn’t take long to find the century mark as he assisted on Waffle’s first goal of the game with 10:11 to play in the first and followed that when the two reversed roles with Waffle assisting on a Mann goal with 9:35 to go in the first. “It’s a pretty big milestone,” Mann said. “I’ve always wanted to come to a school, fit in and make my mark. And I couldn’t have done it without teammates. There were a lot of assists in it.” The Dolphins fell behind 9-5 midway through the third quarter when Waffle mounted a comeback. He had four of his goals in the remainder of regulation and was helped by Donovan Lange (two goals) and Conor Igoe to get to the tie. Lightning interrupted the push with 1:06 to play in the third. After 58 minutes, play resumed. Goal keeper Pete DeLuca had a busy day as the Keydets fired 55 times in his direction. He had 17 saves and five ground balls on the day. “I’m not sure we deserved to win that game other than we worked hard for it,” coach Guy Van Arsdale said. “The fact of the matter is we had a couple of individuals who played unbelievable today. Sometimes when it’s not going the way you want you need some individuals to play like that. We’ve got to get more people doing that. We have got to understand what’s going on around us and not lose our heads which we did frequently on the defensive end quite a bit.” The game was eerily reminiscent of last week for VMI (1-7, 0-2) when it gave up two goals in the last minute to lose a one-goal game to Siena. The Dolphins take on Air Force Tuesday at 7 p.m. at Bolles High School. Tickets for that game will be available at the gate for $5.

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