Siena men's lacrosse led for the majority of their season-opener, but were unable to deliver a fourth quarter finish to put the game away and eventually lost a heartbreaker, 16-15 in overtime on the road at NJIT's Lubetkin Field at Mal Simon Stadium on Saturday. 

It appeared that the Saints were well on its way to a victory to open its 61st varsity season as it held an 11-8 halftime advantage and led 13-10 with 6:43 remaining in the third quarter. 

Siena (0-1) led in most team categories including a 47-42 shots advantage, a 32-26 edge in terms of shots on goal and even won the turnover battle 29-18. 

The Saints received goals from 10 different players including hat tricks from both sophomore Caden Olmstead and junior Pratt Reynolds as well as a two-goal, one-assist performance from transfer Conor Hufnagle. 

At times, Siena showed how potent their offense can be with explosive scoring spurts that included a 17-second sequence that produced goals from Hufnagle, Reynolds and Olmstead. 

But, the Highlanders (2-0) hung around and held Siena without a goal in the fourth quarter and into overtime. 

With the Saints clinging to a 15-14 lead, Jesse Roth scored with 2:16 remaining in regulation to knot the score. 

In overtime, Jack Bowie scored at the 3:38 mark on a feed from Owen Curry to give NJIT the win. 

The teams were meeting for a second consecutive year to open their seasons. Both ended in dramatic fashion as the Saints won last season's matchup with a 12-11 victory in Loudonville in what was a competitive back-and-back game that was decided in the final minute. 

NJIT starts 2-0 for the first time in program history after defeating St. John's last week. 

It marks the first time that Siena has lost to NJIT and now leads the all-time series with the Highlanders 3-1. 

Sophomore Colby Leblanc and freshman Patrick Radomski scored their first career goals in a Saints uniform.
 
Saints senior goalkeeper Andrew Arcuri made his first career start and made 10 saves in over 61 minutes of action. 

The Westhampton, NY native had appeared in over 21 minutes of action playing behind graduated goalkeeper Christopher Yanchoris prior to today's start. 

Siena will be back in action on Saturday at Hofstra with a 12 p.m. scheduled face off.