THE BASICS:

RESULT: Hartford 16, Boston University 10
RECORDS: Hartford (1-0); RV/RV BU (3-1)
LOCATION: Nickerson Field (Boston, Mass.)
ATTENDANCE: 367

THE LEAD: The University of Hartford men's lacrosse team dominated from start-to-finish, as it downed the Boston University Terriers, 16-10, in its season opener at Nickerson Field on Saturday. Junior Jaedon Henderson and sophomore Will Dulin paced the offense with four and three goals, respectively, while senior Conor Van Duzer matched a game-high four points in his Hartford debut with one goal and three assists.

The Hawks, who never trailed in the contest, also received solid performances from faceoff specialist Dylan Protesto and goalie Ryan Vanderford. Protesto went 14-for-25 at the X while Vanderford registered a game-best 12 saves as the Hawks handed the Terriers their first loss of the season. BU, which entered the week receiving votes in both the USILA/Nike Coaches' Poll and the Inside Lacrosse Cascade/Maverik Media Top 20 Poll, had 10 different players contribute to the offense. Jack Wilson and Brendan Homire paced the squad in the losing effort with three points apiece.

HOW IT HAPPENED:

• The Hawks came out of the gates firing, as three different players scored within the first 4:05 to provide the visiting team with the early 3-0 edge. Sophomore Griffin Feiner got the scoring going at the 9:27 mark before Protesto won the ensuing faceoff and went straight to the goal just six seconds later. Capping the rally was sophomore Tevor O'Brien, who used a feed from Feiner to make it a three-goal lead.
• With 3:01 remaining in the opening quarter, Hayden Ruiz got the Terriers on the scoreboard to make it a 3-1 Hawks' lead heading into the second quarter.
• Henderson opened up the scoring in the second, as his first of four goals on the afternoon re-extended Hartford's lead to three with 12:27 left. But the Terriers picked up the pace offensively, as they answered with two-straight scores from Drew Lukacs and Homire to trim the Hawks' lead to one at 4-3 with 7:07 remaining.
• That would be the closest that BU would come for the remainder of the game. Less than a minute later, freshman Dylan Jinks pushed the Hawks' lead back to two with his first career goal before Henderson made it a 6-3 game with an unassisted score at the 3:45 mark. The two squads would exchange goals through the closing minutes to provide the halftime edge of 7-4.
• Following a quiet third quarter that saw both sides combine for just three goals, Hartford got hot as it extended a two-goal lead (8-6) to six using a 4-0 run to open the fourth. Four different Hawks contributed to that six minute stretch as Henderson, Van Duzer, freshman Zach Elkinson and Dulin made it a 12-6 game with 9:08 left to play.
• BU stopped the bleeding with a man-up goal at the 7:54 mark, but Hartford answered back and took its largest lead of the game (9) with four more unanswered tallies. Capping the rally was sophomore Doug Biondi, who used his first goal of the year to push the advantage to 16-7 with 2:59 left on the clock. BU managed to close in on the lead before the final horn, as it ended the game with a 3-0 run, including a tally in the final 12 seconds from Jack Wilson.

 
INSIDE THE NUMBERS:

• Four players recorded multi-goal outings, led by four from Henderson.
• Dulin added a hat trick, the first of his career, while Jinks and O'Brien netted two apiece.
• In his Hartford debut, Van Duzer matched a game-best in points with four after scoring one goal and dishing out a game-high three assists.
• At the X, the Hawks received a solid performance from Protesto, who went 14-for-25 with a team-best six ground balls.
• BU held slight edges in ground balls (36-35) and shots (36-35).
• The Hawks' man-down unit held BU to a 2-for-5 effort in extra-man opportunities.
• Hartford was successful in 10-of-12 clears in the first half, but went 8-of-12 in the second half. Overall, BU converted on 17-of-23 clear opportunities.
• Each side posted 15 wins at the faceoff X.
• BU featured 10 different goal scorers.
• Between the pipes, Christian Carson-Banister registered seven saves for BU while Vanderford made 12 stops in goal for the Hawks.

NEWS & NOTES:

• Saturday marked the first-ever meeting between the Hawks and Terriers, as Boston University is amidst its third season competing at the NCAA Division I level.
• The Hawks improve to 8-24 in season openers.
• Henderson's four goals marked a career-high for the junior.
• Dulin registered his first career hat trick in the contest, adding an assist for a career-high four points..

UP NEXT:                                                                     
The Hawks return to action on Saturday, Feb. 27, as they open up their home schedule against Bryant. Opening faceoff from Al-Marzook Field at Alumni Stadium is scheduled for 1 p.m.