HAMDEN, Conn.  –  Freshman Griffin Feiner scored on a feed from senior Rob Zecher with 41 seconds remaining in overtime to lead the University of Hartford men's lacrosse team to a thrilling, 10-9 win over the Quinnipiac Bobcats at QU Lacrosse Turf on Saturday afternoon. With the win, the Hawks improve to 2-2 while the Bobcats dip to 1-3 overall.

Previously tying up the game at 6-6 on an extra-man opportunity with his first goal of the afternoon at the 8:10 mark of the third, Feiner produced the game-winning tally out of a pair of key stops on the defensive end. With 1:49 left in the extra period, freshman Ryan Vanderford turned aside his 11th shot of the day after stopping a rifle from Quinnipiac's Ryan Keenan before the back line forced Pat Corcoran into a turnover.

Coming out of the scrum with the ground ball was Dan Pierce, and from there, Zecher fed Feiner with the deciding goal just eight seconds later as the Hawks came out with their sixth-straight win over the Bobcats.

Senior reserve Matt Carroll paced the Hawks' offense with a career-high five goals, while Feiner finished the game with three points, adding an assist to his two goals. Carroll compiled his first career hat trick just 21 minutes in to the contest, and added to that total later in the game. With his team trailing by two in the final quarter, Carroll struck with a pair of unanswered goals in the final quarter to pull Hartford out of its 8-6 deficit and force the fifth tie of the afternoon with 4:15 remaining.

With the score even at 8-8, Brian Feldman, who led Quinnipiac with four goals and an assist, put the Bobcats ahead with 1:53 remaining. But that go-ahead goal would be spoiled, as Kevin O'Shea found the back of the net with 58 ticks of the clock left to force overtime.

Freshman Dylan Protesto had another impressive outing in the faceoff circle, winning 15-of-21 duels while collecting a career-high eight ground balls. The Hawks outshot the Bobcats, 45-31, and won the ground ball battle, 32-29.

Quinnipiac led for most of the game, recording an early two-goal edge to open up the game before grabbing its 8-6 advantage 61 seconds into the fourth. The Hawks' largest advantage of the contest came midway through the second as a 3-0 run featuring two Carroll goals and one from freshman Will Dulin, made it a 5-3 lead for the visitors. That lead would be wiped away, though, as the Bobcats ended the half with a pair of unanswered tallies before opening up the third with another goal.

The Hawks open up conference play at home with their first-ever meeting against UMass Lowell on Saturday, March 14 at 1 p.m.

THE TURNING POINT:
Hartford clawed back from its largest deficit of the game as a pair of unanswered goals from Matt Carroll at the 11:26 and 4:15 marks of the fourth erased Quinnipiac's 8-6 lead and made it a new ball game. With 1:53 remaining, Brian Feldman put the lead advantage back in the Bobcats' hands before Hartford senior Kevin O'Shea forced overtime 55 seconds later. In the extra period, freshman Ryan Vanderford turned away the potential game-winning goal with 1:49 left before Hartford ended the game on its next possession on rookie Griffin Feiner's second tally of the afternoon. 

INSIDE THE NUMBERS: 

·         The Hawks held advantages in shots (45-31), shots on goal (21-20), faceoff wins (15-6), and ground balls (32-29), but committed six more turnovers than the Bobcats

·         Freshman goalie Ryan Vanderford stopped 11 of the 31 shots he faced while Jack Brust, his counterpart, also turned away 11 shots

·         Freshman Dylan Protesto had another impressive showing in the faceoff circle, winning 15-of-21 duels while collecting a team-high eight ground balls

·         The Hawks were penalized just once in the contest, as Quinnipiac capitalized on its lone extra-man opportunity; Michael Sagl scored 61 seconds into the fourth on the man-up to give Quinnipiac its two-goal edge (8-6) heading down the stretch

·         The Hawks converted on 1-of-5 extra man opportunities 

NEWS AND NOTES: 

·         Hartford records its sixth-straight victory over the Bobcats with Saturday's overtime victory

·         Senior Matt Carroll scored a career-high five goals off the bench, needing just 21 minutes to record his first career hat trick

·         Freshman Dylan Protesto compiled a career-best 15 wins at the faceoff X and gathered eight ground balls, also a personal best number

·         Delivering the game-winner in overtime, freshman Griffin Feiner recorded his second career multi-goal game after finishing with two on the afternoon

·         Ryan Vanderford, another freshman, made 11 stops between the pipes; in both of Hartford's wins, he has recorded double-digit saves

·         Senior Kevin O'Shea has recorded at least one goal in each of his last eight contests

·         When scoring in double-digits this season, Hartford is 2-0 

UP NEXT:
America East Conference play opens for the Hawks as they host their newest league mate, UMass Lowell on Saturday, March 14. The first-ever faceoff between the Hawks and River Hawks is slated for 1 p.m. from Al-Marzook Field.