Hofrichter, Rose Lead Stevens to 14-12 Win over Nazareth on Senior Day
HOBOKEN, N.J. (April 21, 2012) – Two seniors propelled the nationally ranked No. 12 Stevens Institute of Technology men’s lacrosse team to a 14-12 Empire 8 Conference victory over Nazareth College on Senior Day at the De Baun Athletic Complex on Saturday afternoon, April 21. In a highly competitive matchup, Stevens and Naz were never separated by more than three goals throughout the entire 60 minutes of action.
The Golden Flyers (7-7, 3-2 Empire) began the scoring for both teams just 45 seconds into the first quarter on a man-up opportunity. Stevens answered back exactly 45 seconds later with its first goal off a tally from junior midfielder Harrison Dorne (Morristown, N.J.) to knot the game at 1. Fellow junior Nicolas Philippi (Mullica Hill, N.J.) assisted on the opening score.
Halfway through the first period, Nazareth regained the lead on another man-up chance to take its final advantage of the contest until midway through the third quarter. The Ducks would respond with four consecutive goals over the final 3:31 of the opening quarter to go up 5-2 through 15 minutes of action. Senior attack Alex Hofrichter (Terrance Park, Ohio) capitalized on a man-up chance for Stevens to begin the 4-0 run with 3:31 to go off a feed from freshman midfielder Michael Maroon (Virginia Beach, Va.). Philippi then tallied his first of two scores one minute later to give the Ducks their first lead of the game.
On the ensuing possession for Stevens, sophomore long stick midfielder Tim Culloty (Mahwah, N.J.) netted his second goal of the season on an unassisted score. Just over 30 later, sophomore attack Charlie Cronin (Northampton, Mass.) staked the Ducks to a three-goal lead with his seventh tally of the year off a pass from Hofrichter with 1:43 left to end the scoring in the first quarter.
As the second quarter got under way, the Golden Flyers rolled off three straight goals to knot the game up at 5 apiece over the first seven minutes of the period. Naz netted its first score of the quarter just 15 seconds in, while the other two goals were scored a minute apart and the nine and eight-minute mark.
Stevens then went on its own 3-0 run to go back up, 8-5, with just over one minute left before halftime. Junior midfielder Rich Dupras (Hillisborough, N.J.) scored off a pass from Cronin to break the 5-5 deadlock at the 6:13 mark. Senior attack Kevin Rose (Garden City, N.Y.) got in on the action with back-to-back man-up goals off assists from Philippi and Maroon. With just six seconds left before halftime, Nazareth inched a goal closer with its final score of the opening two quarters. Stevens went into the break with an 8-6 lead.
As the third quarter got under way, Nazareth started exactly the same as the first two quarters with the opening score of the period just under two minutes into the period. The Golden Flyers then netted two more goals to complete another run for Naz, this time four consecutive scores to take their first lead since the 7:59 mark of the first quarter, 9-8.
Once again, Stevens answered back with a 3-0 spurt to regain its lead at 11-9 with 3:33 to go in the third quarter. Dorne knotted the score back up at 9 with his second of three goals in the game off a pass from Rose with 6:38 to go in the third. Exactly two minutes later Philippi netted his second goal, unassisted, before Hofrichter finished off the scoring for Stevens in the quarter with just over three minutes left.
Naz would find late life in the period, scoring another goal in the final seconds. With just nine ticks on the clock, the Golden Flyers found the back of the net to cut the Stevens lead to one goal, 11-10, heading into the final quarter.
In the final frame, Stevens changed goalkeepers from senior Eric Yando (Baldwinsville, N.Y.) to freshman Matthew Deiner (Millstone Twp., N.J.) and the switch seemed to spark the Stevens defense. Yando made two saves in 45 minutes to pick up the victory, while Deiner stopped five shots by Nazareth and allowed just two goals.
Offensively, the Ducks score the first three goals of the quarter by Dorne, Rose and Dupras over a 12:33 span. The three final goals were all assisted as well by Hofrichter, Dupras and Philippi, in that order.
Stevens held a 14-10 advantage with 2:27 left in regulation as the Golden Flyers tried to mount a late comeback. Naz was able to pick up two scores within 40 seconds but could not find the back of the net in the final 1:26 of play.
The Ducks dominated offensive possession, taking 55 shots to Nazareth’s 28. Groundballs were nearly even, as the Golden Flyers held a slim, 29-28, edge. Stevens only failed on one of its 13 clear attempts, while the Ducks forced Nazareth to not complete five of its 16 tries.