Stevens Shuts Down Springfield in Second Half to Win, 11-5
HOBOKEN, N.J. (March 4, 2012) – The nationally ranked No. 8 Stevens Institute of Technology men’s lacrosse team allowed just one goal to visiting No. 18 Springfield College over the final 39:09 of play to win the top-20 battle at the De Baun Athletic Complex, 11-5 on March 4. Eight different Ducks recorded a point to push their record to 3-0 so far this season.
Stevens’ defense proved to be the difference maker throughout the entire 60 minutes of play against the Pride. Despite allowing the first goal on the contest to Springfield just 40 seconds into the game, the Ducks’ backline toughened up and only allowed the Pride to take one more shot in the opening 15 minutes of play.
The Ducks then ran off three straight goals in just over a four-minute span to build a 3-1 lead after the first quarter. Senior attack Alex Hofrichter (Terrance Park, Ohio) put the first Stevens goal on the board on an unassisted goal in 7:20 left in the quarter. Two minutes later, junior midfielder Harrison Dorne (Morristown, N.J.) found the back of the net off a pass from Hofrichter to give the Ducks their first lead of the contest on a man-up goal. Hofrichter then took a pass from junior midfielder Nicolas Philippi (Mullica Hill, N.J.) to tally his second score of the game and wrap up scoring in the opening frame.
Hofrichter recorded all three of his points in the game on those three scores, while Dorne paced the Ducks with four tallies in six shots on goal. Philippi assisted on one more goal later in the contest.
Springfield found life when the second quarter began, as it went from trailing, 3-1, to leading, 4-3, just 3:21 in the quarter. The Pride rolled off three consecutive scores to start the quarter, two of which were scored just six seconds apart from Ryan Murphy, Parker Geane and Mike Donohue. Ryon Lynch and Branden Fernandez assisted on the Geane and Donohue goals.
Now trailing by one goal, the Ducks used a three-goal onslaught from Dorne to regain the lead. Dorne tied the game at 4 on an unassisted goal with 8:47 left in the half, and then received a pass from senior attack Kevin Rose (Garden City, N.J.) 3:30 later to put Stevens ahead for good. Not even a minute later, Dorne hooked up with Philippi on a man-up opportunity with 4:37 remaining in the second quarter to give the Ducks a 6-4 halftime lead.
As the second half got under way, Stevens kept applying the offensive and defensive pressure on the Pride. The Ducks would tally three scores of their own and would keep Springfield off the scoreboard over that 15-minute frame.
Freshman midfielder Michael Maroon (Virginia Beach, Va.) netted his second score of the season with 12:47 remaining in the quarter off the second assist from Rose. Junior midfielder Rich Dupras (Hillsborough, N.J.) picked up his first score of the season on an unassisted effort just three minutes later to give Stevens an 8-4 lead. Rose would then find the back of the cage off a pass from Dupras in the waning seconds of the quarter to stake the Ducks to a five-goal advantage heading into the final quarter.
The Ducks would tack on an early fourth period goal by Rose to build their largest lead of the contest with 10:21 left. Rose received a pass from freshman attack Andrew Scrutchfield (Lewes, Del.) and beat the Pride goalkeeper.
Springfield would then snap is goalless drought with 3:12 left in regulation but there would not be enough time left to mount a miraculous comeback. Mike Delia tallied the unassisted score for the Pride.
Scrutchfield would end the scoring for both teams in the final minute of play off a pass from senior defender Matt Marks (Cortland, N.Y.). Marks scooped up a groundball off a save from senior Eric Yando (Baldwinsville, N.Y.) and pushed the ball down the field for a good clear attempt. He then found a wide open Scrutchfield on the left wing of the cage and capitalized on the pass.
Marks recorded five groundballs in the game, as well as four caused turnovers. Also with four caused turnovers was sophomore long stick midfielder Tim Culloty (Mahwah, N.J.). As a team, the Ducks forced the Pride into 14 turnovers.
Yando played all 60 minutes in cage for the Ducks and stopped nine shots to earn his third victory of the season. Yando also picked up a groundball in the win.
At the face-off ‘X’, senior midfielder Michael Steinhauser (Boonton Twp., N.J.) won eight of 18 face-offs and picked up a team-best seven groundballs. Steinhauser also forced a turnover.
Despite being on the wrong end of groundballs, 27-26 and face-offs won, 12-8, Stevens controlled the game with clears, turnovers and man-down defense. The Ducks held the edge in clears, 18-12, as Stevens was awarded 22 chances to Springfield’s 16. The Pride struggled with the ball, turning it over 25 times in the game, compared to Stevens’ 16. Stevens’ defense also came up clutch in man-down situations, stopping the Pride from scoring on all five opportunities.