WEST HARTFORD, Conn.  – Four Hawks netted hat tricks on Saturday afternoon as the University of Hartford men's lacrosse team rattled-off its fourth-straight win as it topped UMass, 15-8, at Al-Marzook Field. Senior Kevin O'Shea's five goals paced all scorers as the Hawks (7-4) knocked off the Minutemen (3-8) for the first time in program history.

O'Shea handed out a pair of assists to finish with seven points, a game- and season-high for the midfielder. Also adding hat tricks was senior Matt Carroll and rookies Justin Huggins and Griffin Feiner. Jaedon Henderson, a sophomore, assisted on a career-high four goals to lead the Hawks in that category.

UMass came out of the gates to score two of the first three goals in the first 9:12 of action, but the Hawks were not rattled by the early deficit. Instead of folding, Hartford put the pedal to the medal and rattled off six-straight scores in a rally that extended deep into the second quarter to take a 7-2 advantage over the Minutemen with 7:01 left before halftime.

Carroll, Feiner and sophomore Alec Brown strung together three goals to end the first period before O'Shea single handedly kept the rally going, adding to his first quarter goal with three-straight tallies to provide the five-goal cushion. UMass would put an end to the run and a 16-plus minute scoring drought on a Grant Whiteway goal with 3:52 left before halftime to pull the Minutemen within four at the break at 7-3.

That Whiteway, half-ending goal would not provide any momentum for the Minutemen in the second half, though. Out of the third-quarter opening faceoff, Hartford dominated the stanza from start to finish and struck the scoreboard six times during that stretch to take a 10-goal advantage over UMass at 13-3. O'Shea netted his final goal of the game in that quarter while Huggins needed just those 15 minutes to put his second career hat trick on the board.

Pushing their advantage to 14-3 just 40 seconds into the final quarter on a Carroll goal, UMass ended a 22:26 scoring drought and an 8-0 Hartford thanks to Andrew Sokol's first goal of the season. That marker, which was assisted by Nick Mariano, sparked a string of five-straight Minutemen scores as UMass brought its deficit down to single digits with 9:28 left and pulled within six (14-8) with 3:10 left. UMass wouldn't cover any more ground, though, as Carroll ended the rally and put Hartford up, 15-8, with less than two minutes left to play.

Hartford held advantages over UMass in nearly every statistical category. The Hawks outshot the Minutemen, 36-33, and controlled 17-of-27 faceoffs behind a career-best outing from rookie Spencer Andrews, who went 13-of-22. Hartford also dominated the ground ball battle, 36-20. Between the pipes, rookie Ryan Vanderford turned aside 13 shots, matching a career-high while notching his seventh win, marking the eighth-most victories in a single season for a Hawk.

Sokol and Brendan Hegerty each struck twice in the fourth quarter to lead the UMass offense. Hegerty added an assist as he finished with a team-high three points. In 23 minutes of action, D.J. Smith was charged with the loss for the Minutemen. He finished with six saves.

Hartford concludes its longest home stretch of the season on Tuesday when it welcomes Sacred Heart to Al-Marzook Field on Tuesday for a 7 p.m. matchup.

THE TURNING POINT:
Trailing, 2-1, nine minutes in, Hartford turned up the heat and netted six-straight scores to go up, 7-2, with 7:01 left in the second. Following a half-ending goal from UMass that broke up a 16 minute scoreless stretch for the visiting squad, Hartford again strung together a 6-0 run to extend its lead to 13-3. Senior Kevin O'Shea struck three times in the second quarter to help the Hawks build the advantage before halftime while freshmen Justin Huggins and Griffin Feiner combined for five of their team's six third-quarter goals that resulted in Hartford taking a 10-goal edge heading into the final quarter.

INSIDE THE NUMBERS: 

·         Hartford led in nearly every facet of the game against the Minutemen, holding advantages in shots (36-33), ground balls (36-20), faceoffs, and saves (13-7)

·         A season-best four Hawks notched hat tricks, led by senior Kevin O'Shea's five goal outing

·         Senior Matt Carroll joined rookies Griffin Feiner and Justin Huggins with three goals apiece

·         Freshmen Spencer Andrews and Dylan Protesto combined for solid outings inside of the faceoff circle; Andrews won a career-high 13 duels in 22 chances, while Protesto went 4-of-5 as Hartford wenet 17-of-27 at the X on the afternoon 

NEWS AND NOTES: 

·         Hartford the program's first-ever win over UMass on Saturday afternoon as the Hawks were 0-11 entering the non-league matchup

·         With the win, the Hawks extended their season-best win-streak to four games

·         The four-game win-streak is Hartford's longest since the 2011 season, when it also rattled off four-straight victories

·         Hartford is 4-1 at home this season, with its lone blemish coming to now-nationally ranked Brown

·         Senior Kevin O'Shea recorded season-highs in goals (5) and points (7) while sophomore Jaedon Henderson handed out four assists, a career-high

·         O'Shea was one of a season-best four players to net hat tricks in the contest; he improves his career hat trick total to 17

·         Ranked fifth in scoring with 158 points, O'Shea moved up to fifth place on Hartford's all-time goals list with 107 while also advancing one spot on the all-time assists list where he ranks eighth with 51

·         Freshman Spencer Andrews enjoyed a career day at the faceoff X as he won 13-of-22 duels while collecting eight ground balls

·         Improving to 7-4 on the season after tying his career-high with 13 saves, freshman goalie Ryan Vanderford has posted the eighth-most wins in a single season in Hartford's Division I era 

UP NEXT:
Hartford concludes its longest homestand of the season with another non-conference matchup as it is slated to host instate rival Sacred Heart on Tuesday at 7 p.m. The Hawks have posted two-straight wins against the Pioneers to knot up the all-time series at eight games apiece.