The Mustangs and Rust & Gold faced off in an exciting playoff matchup between the 4 and the 13 seed and regulation wasn’t enough time to decide a winner. This one needed an extra four minute frame and it was the 4th seeded Mustangs defeating Rust & Gold 10-9 in overtime on the game winning goal scored by Noah Sulpizio to send Mount Sinai to the second round.
This contest was evenly matched through the first nine minutes of play as the two teams were tied 2-2 before the Mustangs scored consecutive goals to claim a 4-2 lead. Rust & Gold continued to hang around and remained within striking distance in the first half as the Mustangs held a 7-5 lead going into halftime.
In the second half the Mustangs maintained a two goal advantage inside of five remaining in the game as they held an 8-6 lead. However Spencer Cymbler scored consecutive goals to rally Rust & Gold and even the game at 8-8. Demetri Boutis answered with a bouncing pole goal for his second of the game to reclaim the lead for the Mustangs inside of 2:30 remaining, but once again Rust & Gold didn’t back down and Alex Bauer answered back with just over 30 seconds remaining to send the game to overtime. In the overtime frame it was with less than 40 second to go when Noah Sulpizio scored the game winner on a tough angle to send the Mustangs to the next round.
Leading the Mustangs offense was Nicholas Carretta the Belmont Abbey commit who scored a game high three goals. Michigan commit Lucas Laforge and LIU bound Demetri Boutin each scored twice. Also adding two points was Jackson Burger with one goal and one assist. The young gun Tommy Massaro had a very stout day at the X, going 7/9. Matthew Taylor was pivitol in the cage for Mount Sinai, blocking seven shots with a 53% save percentage.
On the other side Rust & Gold’s key players were Sam Bruno with two goals and one assist, two goals from Spencer Cymbler, and one goal and one assist from Roy Testa. The second half goaltending of Matty Kammer also helped Rust & Gold force overtime with his six saves and 60% save percentage,
In the next round of the playoffs the Mustangs will face the task of taking on the reigning winter league champs the Chaminade Flyers on January 7th at 5:30pm. Rust & Gold will be in the consolation bracket and matchup against the Express 2027 team on January 11th at 6:30pm.
