PHOTO GALLERY
WEST HARTFORD, Conn – Rookie Rion Davison drilled home a trio of goals, his first collegiate hat trick, to lead the University of Hartford men's lacrosse team in a 17-8 loss to the visiting Brown Bears on Wednesday afternoon at Al-Marzook Field at Alumni Stadium. With the loss, Hartford falls to 1-2 overall, while the Bears remain unbeaten in 2015 at 3-0.
After Davison opened up the Hawks scoring just over three minutes into the action, Hartford was unable to thwart a flurry of Brown goals as the Bears ended the first half with 11 unanswered goals. Facing a double digit deficit, the Hawks began a rally late in the third quarter that closed out the game with Hartford scoring six of the final seven goals.
Davison's early goal was his only until the fourth quarter when he got back on the board just under two minutes into the quarter thanks to a pass from Will Dulin. That pass over the goal found Davison who fired a low shot that found the back of the twine. That goal was the third of five straight for the Hawks as Kevin O'Shea began the rally just before the end of the third quarter.
Davison's three goals led the Hawks offense as those three scores came on four total shots. O'Shea and Matt Carroll each tallied two goals for Hartford while Trevor O'Brien rounded out the scorers. O'Shea also finished with a pair of assists for four points total.
Defensively, the Hawks held the Bears without a goal over a span of more than 14 minutes which spanned the final two quarters. That defense allowed the Hawks to claw back into the contest, pulling as close as 16-7 before a string five unanswered goals was cut off by Brown's Owen Rogers.
Freshman Ryan Vanderford led three Hawks goalies in the game as he finished with five saves. Sophomore Evan Quinn led the netminders as he finished the fourth quarter conceding just one goal while making four saves, facing a total of nine shots.
THE TURNING POINT:
With the contest tied at 1-1 just over three minutes into the game, the Brown Bears began a streak of 12 unanswered goals, ending the first half scoring 11 straight goals and adding one more 14 seconds into the start of the second half. That rally put the Hawks in a 13-1 hole with senior midfielder Matt Carroll breaking that rally with the Hawks second goal of the afternoon.
INSIDE THE NUMBERS:
· Senior Matt Carroll's first of two goals against Brown was his first of the season.
· The hat trick for rookie Rion Davison was the first of his career and the third of the season for a Hartford player.
· Hartford used three goalies in the contest with freshman Ryan Vanderford leading the trio with five saves. As a staff, the Hawks three goalies combined for 12 total saves.
· Sophomore goalie Evan Quinn who made his collegiate debut last game against Manhattan, led the Hawks in net, finishing the fourth quarter conceding just one goal and making four saves, a career best.
· Hartford was outshot by the Bears who finished with a 48-41 advantage, while also holding a 42-32 advantage in ground balls
· At the faceoff X, the Hawks and Bears finished even at 14-of-28, but were whistled for four violations
· Freshman Dylan Protesto finished 12-of-20 at the faceoff X, the second most victories he has compiled this season. Protesto's 12 faceoff victories led all players in the game.
· Junior goalie Zack Jones made his debut between the pipes for Hartford, playing the full third quarter. Jones compiled three saves while conceding four goals. The appearance against Brown was just the second of his career.
· Five of the Hawks eight goals went unassisted, while senior Kevin O'Shea finished with two of the three assists for Hartford. The two assists matches his season high set in the season opener against Bryant.
UP NEXT:
The Hawks have a matchup with an instate opponent on the docket as they head to Hamden on Saturday afternoon to face Quinnipiac. With opening faceoff slated for 12 p.m., Hartford is 9-5 against the Bobcats having reeled-off wins in the last five games.
