Bowling Green 6-foot, 200-pound junior attack Reece Rath scored the game-winning goal in overtime to lead the Bobcats to a 9-8 win over Leo (Indiana) in their home opener at Bobcat Stadium Saturday.

Rath was assisted by junior attack Tanner Amos and senior attack Jeremiah Hanson. The score came two minutes and 34 seconds into the overtime, but just 25 seconds after the BG coaches called a timeout.

“We were trying to set up a couple plays to get a couple screens and try to get a good shot,” said Connor Rogowski, who is BG’s associate head coach under head coach Devin Radcliff.

“Everybody was a little nervous in overtime, both teams, so we were just trying to slow it down and try to get an open shot on the goal.”

Rath’s score came after Leo senior goalie Grant Stailey saved another potential game-winner, and the Lions quickly went the other direction hoping to get a game-winner of their own before the Bobcats’ defense stepped up.

“We had one (shot) and he made a really good save, and fortunately we were able to get a turnover and then we were able to get a quick one at the end,” Rogowski said.

Rath said during the game-winning possession it was all about not letting the ball get away from them.

“We were trying to get something set up, get the ball around, and not be too panicked or get a bad pass, so we tried to get a play set up and we were just able to get it into the net,” Rath said.

BG, after opening the season with a 13-5 loss at Avon last Saturday, improved to 1-1. Leo, located just outside Fort Wayne, was playing in their season opener.

Rath led the team in scoring with four goals and two assists and Amos and junior attack Elliot Baber had two goals and one assist apiece.

BG senior attack J.T. Webb had one goal and three assists, junior Isaac Baber dished out two assists, and senior attack Jeremiah Hanson, junior midfielder Jackson Shafer, and junior goalie Hunter Kozlowicz contributed one assist apiece.

In the first quarter, BG senior face-off specialist Paul Archer was 7-for-7 in draws, keeping possession going the Bobcats’ way as they built a 5-1 lead.

The fifth goal was a long pass from Kozlowicz in the crease over everyone’s heads, and it bounced right to Amos, who scored in transition, giving the Bobcats a four-goal lead with 2:55 remaining in the opening period.

The Bobcats outshot the Lions, 13-2, in the opening quarter, but Leo outshot BG 11-5 in the second quarter, leading to three 20-foot shots and scores by senior attack Isaiah Stoller to close the gap to one, 5-4, at halftime.

In the third, BG controlled possession again, outshooting the Lions 10-1 with every shot taken by Rath, but he was only on net three times and scored once, assisted by Shafer and Webb. Although many of Rath’s shots were wide, it kept possession in BG’s hands and gave the Bobcats a two-goal lead.

In the fourth, the Lions went on a mission, scoring four times, including a goal by junior attack Benny Meyer, assisted by sophomore attack Titus Stoller, to tie the game at eight goals apiec with 1:10 remaining.

For Leo, Isaiah Stoller finished with four goals and an assist, Titus Stoller had two goals and two assists, Meyer had two goals and an assist, and sophomore middie Drew Oltman had one goal and two assists.

Kozlowicz and freshman Jason Pierson Jr. shared goalie duties for the Bobcats with the 6-1, 230-pound Pierson getting the win in OT.

Rath is one of four seniors who are tasked with replacing the loss of state and school record-setting holding attack Evan Brandt, now playing at the University of Indianapolis.

“I really liked what we saw today,” Rath said. “We just have really good chemistry throughout the team.

“Playing together with this group has been really nice to build that relationship. Filling Evan Brandt’s shoes is going to be tough but I’m trying to take that step.”

Rogowski believes he and Radcliff have a team that will mature over time because the roster is filled with veteran athletes from other sports, even though not all have had varsity lacrosse experience before this season.

“After last year, we lost 10 guys,” Rogowski said. “We lost a lot of our offensive production on this team but we have a lot of guys stepping up.

“We have a lot of hockey players, a lot of wrestlers who came out and want to play. We have a lot of athletes and we are just trying to get them into the game.

“That was tough because today it was important trying to work them into the game because many of these guys did not have roles last year on the varsity team,” Rogowski continued.

“They have now stepped into big roles, so we need to work them in there. They’ve done a great job so far of starting to get to that point, but they need practice and game reps. They have to just keep getting reps.”