Stevens, Utica and Hartwick Win
Stevens 10, St. John Fisher 8
After a sluggish first half for the nationally ranked No. 8 Stevens Institute of Technology men’s lacrosse team in which only two goals were scored, Stevens netted eight goals in the final 30 minutes to defeat St. John Fisher College, 10-8, in an Empire 8 Conference matchup.
St. John Fisher controlled the tempo throughout the first half and kept the Ducks to its lowest goal output this season in a half with two. Fisher took 20 shots to Stevens’ seven and forced the Ducks into 13 first half turnovers.
It turned out to truly be a tale of two halves after the teams came out of the locker room for the second half. The Ducks came out on fire and netted four goals over the first nine minutes of the period to turn a 3-2 deficit into a 6-3 advantage with 6:02 left in the third.
Fisher answered with two goals of its own to make the game a one score differential at 6-5 with just over three minutes remaining in the period. Ducks jumpted back ahead by three, 8-5, in the final minute of the quarter.
As the fourth quarter got underway, Fisher once again fought back with two early tallies to make the score 8-7 with just over nine minutes to play in regulation. Stevens scored at the 5:03 mark to make it a 9-7 game, but the Cardinals came right back with 2:36 to go. The Ducks added the insurance goal with 1:11 left in the game which resulted in the final score of the contest at 10-8.
Utica 13, Alfred 5
The Utica College men's lacrosse team jumped out to a 10-2 lead at halftime and never looked back as the Pioneers topped visiting Alfred University, 13-5, in Empire 8 Conference action on the turf at Charles A. Gaetano Stadium Saturday.
Utica dominated play in the first half to set the tone for the contest. The Pioneers netted the first two goals of the game just 4:06 into the contest. Alfred struck back with a goal in the ninth minute, but the Pioneers countered with two more before the end of the first to take a 4-1 lead into the second quarter.
The second quarter proved to be all UC as the Pioneers outscored the visitors 6-1 in the 15 minute stretch. The Pioneers held an eight goal lead at the halftime intermission, 10-2.
Each team netted three second half goals and the Pioneers eventually came away with the 13-5 victory.
Both teams netted four man-up goals (12 man-up opportunities each) and the Pioneers outshot the visitors 45-31 on the afternoon.
Hartwick 12, Elmira 8
Harry Hughes became Hartwick's all-time leading scorer as the men's lacrosse team defeated Elmira 12-8 on Saturday afternoon. 'Wick evens its record at 5-5 overall and gets its first Empire 8 win to improve to 1-2 in the conference. Elmira drops to 1-7 and 0-2 in the E8.
Hartwick led 8-4 after Irvens Dupuy scored at 9:04. After the ensuing face-off, Hartwick controlled possession in the Elmira zone. Giuseppe Rice dished out to Hughes who scored his 176th career goal to move past Ian Ritcey (1992-1995) on the all-time list.
Hughes got off to a hot start as he scored the first three goals of the game to give Hartwick a 3-0 lead. After the Soaring Eagles got on the board at 6:19 of the first quarter, Hartwick tacked on two more goals to move ahead 5-1.
Elmira rallied with three straight scores in the second quarter as Hartwick held on to a 5-4 advantage. Hartwick would distance itself from the Soaring Eagles with a 4-0 run spanning the second and third quarters and led 9-4. Elmira's scored at 5:51 to make it a 9-5 contest.
Hartwick opened the fourth quarter with a score just 21 seconds into the period but Elmira answered with a goal to make it 10-6. 'Wick scored two goals within 43 seconds to go up 12-6 at 7:16. Elmira scored the game's final two goals to round out the day's scoring.
Carl Lengel stopped 10 shots in goal for the Hawks. Dave Bucchino recorded 21 saves for EC.
The Hawks doubled up the Soaring Eagles in shots 46-28. Elmira led in ground balls 30-27.
Hartwick won 12 face-offs to Elmira's eight. Hudson was 11-of-17 in face-offs won on the day.