THE BASICS:
 
RESULTS: Hartford 9, Sacred Heart 8
RECORDS: Hartford (9-4); Sacred Heart (2-11)
LOCATION: Campus Field (Fairfield, Conn.)
ATTENDANCE: 201

THE LEAD:
 
The University of Hartford men's lacrosse team held off a late Sacred Heart surge to secure a 9-8 victory over the Pioneers at Campus Field on Tuesday evening. Sophomore Justin Huggins scored four times as the Hawks won their fifth-straight game.

Junior Doug Biondi joined Huggins with multiple goals (2), while classmate Jaedon Henderson handed out three assists. Defensively, sophomore Ryan Vanderford registered 11 saves on 19 shots faced for the Hawks, who have not lost since March 26 and are 7-1 in their last eight games.
 
HOW IT HAPPENED:

• The home team took an early, 1-0 advantage as Brian Masi put the Pioneers on the board at the 12:11 mark of the opening quarter. Hartford dominated the remainder of the quarter, though, and took a three-goal lead using a 4-0 run.
• The scoring was efficient for the Hawks, as each of the four scores came within a stretch of 2:17, beginning with a Huggins goal at the 8:43 mark. Following a marker from Doug Biondi, Huggins went off for two more unanswered goals to push the Hawks' advantage to three with his first-quarter hat trick.
• Before the end of the half, Sacred Heart got one score back and cut the lead to two (4-2) behind a goal from Julian Garritano. At the break, each side registered 10 shots on goal, but the Hawks held advantages in saves (8-6), faceoffs (6-2) and ground balls (14-9).
• Opening the third with two-straight scores from Feiner and Huggins at the 12:54 and 9:11 marks, the Hawks went on to outscore the Pioneers, 3-1, in that stanza. Rookie Dylan Jinks, who leads Hartford with 51 points, gave his squad its largest lead of the night at 7-3 with 2:17 to go in the third.
• Sacred Heart ralliedin the fourth, mounting for a comeback by scoring four of the game's last five goals. After the two squads exchanged a pair of scores to start, the Pioneers went off for three scores in a 126 second span to pull within one at 8-7 with 6:50 remaining.
• With 4:47 left to play, Biondi netted a crucial goal that ended the Pioneers' run and put the Hawks back up by two at 9-7 heading into the final stretch. That edge proved to be enough for Hartford to hold on for the win, despite a late Sacred Heart tally in the final minute.

 
INSIDE THE NUMBERS:

• Huggins' hat trick – the sophomore's third of the season – came within the game's first 6:17 of action. His first three goals were scored within a stretch of 2:17.
• Vanderford, who is coming off back-to-back Defensive Player of the Week honors from the America East, picked up his 16th career win between the pipes to move into sixth place in Hartford's record books.
• He finished with double-figure saves for the eighth time this season.
• The five-game winning streak is the longest for the Hawks this season, and the longest since 2003, when Hartford won six in a row from April 2-April 19.
• Hartford has held its opponents to single-digit goal totals in each of the last five games, conceding an average of 6.6 goals per game during that stretch.
• Sophomore Dylan Protesto led the way at the X with a 15-for-20 effort and 10 ground balls.

 
NEXT ON TAP:
Hartford returns to Al-Marzook Field to entertain Vermont in its final regular-season home game on Saturday, April 23. Prior to the 5 p.m. opening faceoff the Hawks will honor their four seniors – Zack Jones, Torrey Martone, Ty Schuldt and Jake Vogl – in a Senior Night Ceremony.