Saints Peter & Paul tops Curley in OT for second straight B Conference lacrosse crown
by James Peters
Before the 2026 season began, Saints Peter and Paul senior attackman Liam Durnbaugh set a lofty goal. After rifling in the game-winning goal in his team’s thrilling, come-from-behind, 6-5 double overtime MIAA B Conference championship victory against Archbishop Curley, he realized that high-minded objective.
“I remember at the beginning of the year telling (assistant) Coach Casey (Grieves) that I wanted to win player of the game; I wanted to win the championship,” said Durnbaugh, who earned both awards by leading the Sabres to back-to-back titles after the Friars had won a trio of championships. “It’s just a surreal feeling knowing that you had the game winner. This is the craziest game I’ve been in my whole life. This is a feeling that I think I’m never going to feel again until hopefully winning a Patriot League championship at Boston (University).”
In a contest that remained close through a combination of stingy defense and numerous errant shots, Curley poured in three straight goals to take the largest lead of the match at 5-3 with 1 minute, 1 second left in regulation.
Saints Peter and Paul (13-6 overall), however, stormed right back with a pair of goals roughly 12 seconds apart to force overtime. Andrew Steindhardt trimmed that lead to 5-4 with 29.7 left on a hard shot off an assist from Durnbaugh and then Mason Roland tied the contest through a timely assist from JJ Rardin, with just under 18 seconds remaining in regulation, as the Sabres secured the face-off and immediately attacked.
“It was tough,” Steinhardt said. “We thought we were out of it. We had, what, a minute left? I just trusted my brothers and got the job done for them. I just wanted one last bang with them. I’ve been playing with them all my life.
“It’s a crazy rivalry. Every game is a one-goal game, two-goal game. We’re definitely rivals. It’s a fun time playing against them.”
Following a scoreless first overtime, Saints Peter and Paul shut down an offensive attack by Curley and quickly transitioned down the field with a pass to midfield, where Sabres defender Jackson Jancosko pushed the action and found an open Durnbaugh on the right side and some 20 yards outside the crease. He fired in the unexpected shot for the win with 49 seconds left in the second extra period.
“I was screaming, ‘What the heck are you doing?’” said Sabres coach Freddie Wolters of Durnbaugh’s game-winning shot. “Twenty yards out and we just got the ball. And then I said, 'Great shot.’ That was not planned, but as we always say, `Nobody sees a picture. They see a 6-5 win.’ He took the shot he had. He had the guts to take it. Couldn’t have happened to a better kid.”
As thrilling as the closing moments of regulation and different times during the overtime periods were, most of the rest of the game was dominated by great saves, hard-hitting defense, unforced turnovers, and errant shots, resulting in the low-scoring affair.
In fact, the game remained scoreless until Curley’s Aidan Palinkas coaxed his defender to relax just enough for Palinkas to burst past him for a low shot and a 1-0 Friars lead roughly 8 1/2 minutes into the championship contest. That would be the lone score of the opening quarter that was marked by some big hits, strong defensive play near the goal, and some unforced turnovers.
Durnbaugh tied the score in the opening minute of the second quarter off a pass from Steindhardt in a quick counterattack as the Friars had just gotten back to full strength following a late first-quarter tripping penalty.
A few big saves by Curley goalkeeper Nicholas Yeagy before and shortly after that goal, including a fastbreak one-on-one with Roland, kept the contest tied until Rardin weaved through the Curley defense on a quick restart with 2:56 left in the first half for a 2-1 Sabres lead.
The Friars (12-2) knotted the score at 2-2 with 19.6 seconds remaining in the first half on a close range goal by a cutting Ethan Wojcik off a feed from Parker Giannelli.
Errant shots and big saves ruled most of the rest of the third quarter until Durnbaugh scored on a fast-paced counterattack that saw goalkeeper Hank Walters feed the ball to Roland at midfield. Roland then found an open Steinhardt, who then tossed the ball to Durnbaugh streaking to the goal for a layup and a 3-2 Sabres lead with 2:02 left in the quarter.
Undaunted, Curley’s Palinkas tied the score at 3-3 about 20 seconds later against a slow-to-react Sabres defense. Xavier Duvall then helped Curley capture its first lead since the first quarter through a one-on-one move to his right and then a low bounding shot with 5:50 left in the match.
With it looking like Curley was attempting to shorten the game through possession, Sal Mogavero raced in through three defenders and successfully scored on a jumping shot for a commanding 5-3 lead with 1:01 remaining
“It’s a great little rivalry we have going,” Friars coach Chris Ogle said. “This is another example. One hundred percent proud of my guys. I take my guys any day of the week, and they gave it everything they had. It’s tough. They just made two plays in the last minute to tie it up and send it to overtime.”