Box Score Senior midfielder Eric Neumeyer scored 28 seconds into overtime to give Colorado College an 11-10 victory over Whittier College in the first-round of the 2016 NCAA Division III Men's Lacrosse Championship on Wednesday afternoon at Washburn Field.

Neumeyer took a skip pass from freshman midfielder Tyler Borko, spun around a Poet defender and beat sophomore goaltender Alex Cramer with a high shot to toward the far post that gave the Tigers their first-ever postseason victory.

"Obviously it's a pretty special moment and it hasn't set in completely," Neumeyer said. "It's been a really special experience here at CC and I'm really happy that we kind of set a new standard for our team, pushed what the program has done,  and I'm just excited and looking forward to the next game."

Colorado College improved to 12-4 and advanced to this Saturday's second round of the national tournament and a date at No. 3 Salisbury University. The Sea Gulls defeated Catholic University, 19-6.'                             

Borko tied the game with 1:28 remaining in the fourth quarter with a rocket from the high slot after taking a feed from junior attackman Austin Davie.

The Tigers trailed 8-2 at halftime, but after a 40-minute break that included a lightning delay, they seized the momentum by scoring twice in a span of 32 seconds.

"We all believed," head coach Sean Woods said. "8-2 is a big deficit, but we've been there before and we know we'll be there again. Our guys just believed we were better and we were going to win. I credit all the seniors with their leadership."

Borko struck for the first of his two goals 3:07 into the second half, and then freshman midfielder Tom Haller scored the first of his two goals.

An extra-man tally by senior attackman Jonathan Kassity gave the Poets a 9-4 lead, but Davie got that one back with a little more than seven minutes remaining in the third quarter.

Senior goaltender Chase Murphy made six of his 11 saves during the fourth quarter, which provided CC a chance to continue its comeback.

"We have the best goalie in the country and that helps as well. They had some nice looks in the second half. They're a good team and they work hard for their shots. Chase has always been a stalwart for us and he stymied them a little bit and that allowed us to get the ball back."

Colorado College pulled to within three when Haller found the net with a shot to the near-side corner from the right wing, and after Whittier capitalized on an own-goal by the Tigers, markers from sophomore attackman Robbie Stern and Neumeyer cut CC's deficit to 10-8 with 8:57 remaining.

After Davie's man-up tally, his third of the game, pulled Colorado College to within a goal with 6:49 to play, the defense rose to the occasion and kept Whittier off the board while the Tigers played a man-down for 30 seconds.

"We started making plays at the defensive end – we started making hustle plays, physical, toughness plays," Woods said. "But just like we did in the first half, I think they felt a little bit of the pressure in the third quarter. The pressure kind of released off of us and allowed us to gain momentum."

Freshman long-stick middie Jack Ammons made the big play during the penalty kill, forcing a turnover by Poet midfielder Harry Kemp and then scooping up the ground ball. The Tigers maintained possession for more than a minute before Borko tied the game.

Sophomore midfielder Jackson Kaplan won the ensuing faceoff and Colorado College ran the clock down before launching three shots during the final nine seconds, the last of which was stopped by Cramer as the clock expired.

"The moment that we stepped out the door (after halftime) and the clouds kind of cleared, I felt like it was an omen," Neumeyer said. "It was just meant to be. Lacrosse is a game of runs and that's kind of what happened. Thankfully it was enough to get us a win at the end."

The Tigers finished with a 48-28 advantage in total shots and a 33-30 edge in ground balls.

Ammons recorded a game-high four caused turnovers while Neumeyer and Kaplan had five ground balls.

Cramer finished with 15 saves for the Poets, who saw their season end with an 8-6 record.

Kassity led Whittier with four goals and five points.