PHOTO GALLERY

WEST HARTFORD, Conn.  – Senior Kevin O'Shea tallied three goals and a pair of assists to lead the University of Hartford men's lacrosse team in a triple overtime thriller against the Sacred Heart Pioneers. Hartford, who dropped a 9-8 decision to the Pioneers, falls to 7-5 on the season with the loss breaking a four-game win streak.

Rookie Griffin Feiner joined O'Shea in leading the Hawks scoring as he notched a pair of goals both of which came as part of a three-goal rally in the second quarter. Feiner's two goals came 80 seconds apart as Hartford's flurry of scores all came within a span of 2:42 and ended with the Hawks first lead of the game, a 3-1 advantage.

The Hawks would hold that lead heading into the halftime break with a 3-2 advantage. Coming out of the intermission, the Pioneers rattled off the first two goals of the second half for the second lead change of the night. Hartford would then tie the game 67 seconds after that lead change thanks to O'Shea's first goal of the night.

Later in the third, O'Shea went back-to-back with sophomore Alec Brown, ending the third quarter with a 6-5 advantage thanks to those two scores. After trading the first two goals of the fourth, the Pioneers rattled off back-to-back tallies to gain a one-goal advantage with 4:30 remaining.

Hartford answered in the way of O'Shea's third score, partnering with Brown to score with 2:55 remaining. The game-tying goal, the seventh stalemate of the evening, came as Brown found O'Shea in the center of the box as the senior attack-man fired a low shot that skidded across the turf and found the back, beating the Pioneers keeper to the lower right corner.

After three great defensive stands in the first two overtime periods, back-to-back turnovers resulted in a Sacred Heart possession with four minutes remaining in the third overtime frame. The Pioneers converted on that possession as Jerome Rigor, who has been unheard from all night, drilled a shot through traffic that beak the Hawks keeper for the walk-off victory.

THE TURNING POINT:
After four lead changes and six ties, the Pioneers broke through with 2:34 remaining in the third overtime period with a goal from Jerome Rigor who used the turf to bounce a shot through traffic for the walk-off victory.

INSIDE THE NUMBERS: 

·         The hat trick for senior Kevin O'Shea is his second-straight and team-leading sixth of the season

·         Hartford won the overall shots battle with a 33-28 advantage, including an 8-4 lead in the second quarter and a 10-7 advantage in the third

·         Freshman goalie Ryan Vanderford set a career-high with 14 saves, outmatching his opponent who finished with 11

·         Freshmen Spencer Andrews and Dylan Protesto combined to out-battle the Pioneers inside the faceoff circle, finishing with 12 of the 23 total scrums; leading the way was Protesto who finished 11-of-17 at the X

NEWS AND NOTES: 

·         Hartford snapped its season-long winning streak against the Pioneers, while also snapping a two-game win streak in the series against Sacred Heart

·         O'Shea's career hat trick total is up to 18 following the three-goal performance against the Pioneers

·         After matching his career-high last time out against UMass, freshman goalie Ryan Vanderford set a new career-best with 14 saves against Sacred Heart

·         The loss to Sacred Heart is just the second of the season at The Zook with the previous blemish against now-nationally ranked Brown

·         With his five points on Tuesday, senior Kevin O'Shea is now five shy of tying Carter Bender '12 for fifth all-time in scoring

·         The three goals by O'Shea against Sacred Heart moves him into a tie with Lee Bailey '92 for fourth all-time with 110 goals

·         The overtime loss for Hartford is the first of the season; overall the Hawks are 2-1 in 2015 when needing extra time

·         The three overtimes is the longest Hartford has needed to determine a winner since a four OT thriller against Siena on March 8, 2014; that battle also took place at Al-Marzook Field

UP NEXT:
The Hawks hit the road for the final time in the 2015 regular season as they resume conference play with a Saturday afternoon tilt at Vermont. With opening faceoff from Virtue Field set for 1 p.m., Hartford will be seeking its fifth-straight victory against the Catamounts.