BOX SCORE
WEST HARTFORD, Conn. – The University of Hartford lacrosse was unable to pull off the upset win over the No. 13-ranked Delaware Blue Hens in its home opener on Saturday. The Hawks saw an 8-5 third quarter lead disappear as the Blue Hens rallied for six-straight unanswered scores and went on to defeat the Hawks by a 11-9 final at Al-Marzook Field.
The Hawks, who never trailed the Blue Hens until the 11:12 mark of the fourth, led 3-2 after the first quarter and 5-4 at halftime before letting the lead slip away in the final stanza.
Delaware, sparked by six goals and backed by an intense defense that kept Hartford's sticks silent for 23 minutes through the final two quarters, chipped away at the Hawks' 8-5 advantage to pull off the come-from-behind victory. With the win, the Blue Hens improve to 3-1 overall, while the Hawks fall to 0-2 on the season with both losses coming against ranked opponents.
Three Hawks (Rory Nunamacher, Aidan Genik and Jared Franze) notched multi-goal games, with Nunamacher adding an assist for a team-high three points. He was named the America East Player of the Game for his efforts. Sophomore Carter Bender also tallied three points on one goal and a pair of assists. Attackman Curtis Dickson led the Blue Hens with a game-best four goals, including the game-winner, and also added two assists.
Hartford struck twice in the opening four minutes of the game off unassisted scores by Bender and Michael Cudmore to go up 2-1. A buzzer-beater by rookie Rory Nunamacher at the end of the first put the Hawks at a 3-1 advantage. Dickson kept the Blue Hens within reach in the second quarter, notching a pair of goals to cut the Hartford lead to 5-4 heading into the halftime break.
Hartford netted back-to-back goals within a span of nine seconds early in the third quarter to take a commanding 7-4 lead. Franze notched the first score of the half, his sixth of the season, and Genik followed with his fourth of 2010 when he connected with Nunamacher.
A quick response by Delaware's Martin Cahill cut the Hartford lead to 7-5, but Hartford retaliated to push the lead again to three as Nunamacher scored with 8:46 remaining.
The Blue Hens picked up the pace and exploded for six straight scores, ignited by Dickson who netted the final goal of the third quarter, pulling Delaware to within 8-6 heading into the final quarter. Mark Steverson launched the game-tying goal at the 13:31 mark before Dickson connected with Carter Bloor, putting the game-winning mark on the board at 11:28.
Senior Justin Bearse ended the Hawks' 23-minute scoring drought with 2:22 remaining, but the Hawks were unable to spark a comeback.
Sophomore Scott Bement served all 60 minutes in goal and faced 36 total shots making a game-best 15 saves. Noah Fossner played the entire game in goal for the Blue Hens and recorded eight saves.
The Blue Hens outshot the Hawks by a margin of 36-26 and forced the Hawks into 19 turnovers. For the second-straight game, Hartford won the battle at the face-off X as junior Tim Fallon went 12-22. Fallon and classmate Conor Flynn also finished with a game-high seven ground balls.
The Hawks return to action on March 6 when they travel to Hempstead, N.Y. for a Saturday afternoon match-up against Siena. The game is slated for a 4:00 p.m. start time and will be played at Hofstra University.
