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WEST HARTFORD, Conn.  – Matt Robison capped off a Stony Brook comeback bid on Friday and sent the Seawolves home with a 9-8 victoryas his overtime goal spoiled Senior Night for the University of Hartford men's lacrosse team at Al-Marzook Field at Alumni Stadium. The Hawks (7-7) finish the 2015 regular season with a 3-3 record in America East, but still remain alive for an America East Championship bid despite the setback.

Hartford's postseason fate relies on the result of tomorrow's conference matchup featuring Vermont at Binghamton at 1 p.m. A Catamounts' victory would propel the Hawks into their fourth America East Championship appearance in five seasons. Hartford can also receive a playoff bid if Binghamton were to sneak past Vermont by a one-goal differential.

The 19th-ranked Seawolves' (12-4) game-winning score, which came with 1:20 remaining in extra time on a blocked Hartford shot, was Robison's lone tally of the contest and just his second marker of the season. With the win, Stony Brook clinches the second seed in the playoffs as it concludes its regular season conference slate at 5-1.

Friday's thrilling finale was truly a tale of two halves. The Hawks, who dominated possession for most of the first quarter and held a 5-2 edge after the first 15, extended that lead to four at 8-4 by the end of the half. Senior Kevin O'Shea converted on four of his first six shots within the first 24 minutes of action while freshman Ryan Vanderford had six first-half saves to help the Hawks build advantage.

Momentum quickly shifted to the other side in the second half, though. O'Shea's goal with 6:14 remaining in the second would prove to be the Hawks' last of the contest. Keeping Hartford scoreless for the final 36-plus minutes of regulation, Stony Brook scored three unanswered in the third quarter before knotting up the game at 8-8 with 67 seconds remaining in the fourth quarter.

Mike Rooney, who led all scorers with seven points, netted two of his four goals in the third quarter while Ryan Bitzer delivered the game-tying tally for his lone goal of the contest.

In extra time, Stony Brook's Jay Lindsay came away with his fifth win at the X to open up the stanza, and with the shot clock enforced, Vanderford made a save on a Bitzer shot on a ball that came inches away from trickling over the goal line with 2:12 to go.

The Hawks had one final crack at scoring the go-ahead goal out of Vanderford's save. Coming away with the clear, Hartford called timeout. Following the stoppage of play, freshman Justin Huggins cranked back at the cage, but his shot was deflected by a Seawolves' defender. Rooney picked up the ground ball on the block, and found Dylan Curry who set up the game-winning marker.

Vanderford put together one of his most solid efforts between the pipes, rejecting a career-high 15 shots.

INSIDE THE NUMBERS: 

·         Turnovers plagued the Hawks on Friday night as they threw the ball away 20 times, a career-high

·         Stony Brook committed just 11 turnovers, collecting six caused turnovers

·         At the faceoff X, the Hawks combined for a 12-of-21 effort, paced by rookie Dylan Protesto, who won 12-of-19 duels

·         Hartford went on to hold a 29-26 advantage in ground balls, with Torrey Martone leading the Hawks with four

·         Holding a 33-27 shot advantage over Hartford, Stony Brook put all but nine of its shots on target

·         The Hawks converted on both of its man-up opportunities, while the Seawolves went 3-of-4 in EMO 

NEWS AND NOTES: 

·         With its third-straight loss, Hartford concludes the regular season with a 7-7 mark and a 3-3 record in the America East

·         A Hartford win would have granted Hartford a bid to the upcoming America East Championships; the Hawks still remain alive for the playoffs, though, as they can earn a bid with a Vermont win over Binghamton on Saturday

·         A one-goal Binghamton win against the Catamounts would also propel the Hawks into the America East Championships for the fourth time in five years

·         Stony Brook extended its win-streak against the Hawks to four games and improves to 22-7 in the all-time series

·         Five of the last six games between the Hawks and Seawolves have been decided by one goal, with three of those contests needing overtime to reach an outcome

·         Leading the team with five points on four goals and an assist, senior Kevin O'Shea extends his hat trick streak to four games while boosting his season total to eight this season

·         O'Shea also extended his goal-scoring rally to 18 games, a streak that is the ninth longest in the nation

·         Ryan Vanderford, a freshman, recorded a career-high 15 saves in the loss 

UP NEXT:
The Hawks will have to wait until tomorrow afternoon's America East Conference game featuring Vermont at Binghamton to learn the fate of their 2015 season. A Catamounts' victory over the Bearcats would propel Hartford into the America East Championships for the fourth time in five seasons. The Hawks can also earn a playoff spot if Binghamton were to win by one goal.