THE BASICS:
 
RESULT: Hartford 11, Quinnipiac 9
RECORDS: Hartford (2-3); Quinnipiac (1-4)
LOCATION: Reese Field (New Haven, Conn.)
 
THE LEAD:
Senior Alec Brown found the back of the net a game-high four times on Saturday night, as the University of Hartford men's lacrosse team took down defending MAAC champion Quinnipiac, 11-9, at Reese Field. Junior Griffin Feiner tallied a game-best five points, adding a pair of goals and three assists for the Hawks.

In his second game back from injury, junior Ryan Vanderford registered a season-best eight saves in the win as the Hawks avenged a pair of losses to the Bobcats last year, including a defeat in the preliminary round of the 2016 NCAA Tournament. Anthony Carchietta paced the Bobcats with four points in the losing effort, scoring two goals while adding two assists.
 
THE TURNING POINT:
Quinnipiac strung together its largest run of the game, rallying for four-straight goals to erase an 8-5 Hartford lead and take its first advantage of the night with 4:19 remaining. But the Hawks had an answer for the Bobcats' comeback, as they put their local foes away by ending the contest with a furious, 3-0 run. Senior Doug Biondi fed Feiner to make it a 9-9 game with 3:11 to go before Brown delivered his fourth goal of the game – an unassisted strike – to put the Hawks in front for good. Down the stretch, Vanderford preserved the lead by making a pair of huge saves before sophomore Zach Elkinson scored in transition to give Hartford a crucial, two-goal lead with his first goal of the season.
 
HOW IT HAPPENED:

• The Hawks took a pair of two-goal leads early in the game, with back-to-back second-quarter scores from Feiner and sophomore Dylan Jinks providing Hartford with a 4-2 advantage with 8:26 left before the halftime break.
• Brian Feldman and Kevin Diehl knotted up the score for the second time on the night with unanswered scores, but the Hawks got the last goal of the half from Brown with 4:31 left to take a 5-4 lead heading into the break.
• Out of the intermission, two-straight goals – a Jinks score with 12:20 left followed by a Justin Huggins goal at the 8:27 mark of the third – provided Hartford with a three-goal advantage (7-4), marking the visiting team's largest lead of the night.
• In the opening minutes of the fourth, Hartford maintained its three-goal edge at 8-5 thanks to Brown's third strike of the night. But the Bobcats mounted their furious comeback after that, rallying for four-straight goals over an eight-minute stretch to take a one-goal advantage with 4:19 remaining. Four different players contributed to that run as an unassisted goal with 8:49 left from Anthony Carchietta knotted up the score at 8-all before James Byrnes gave Quinnipiac its first lead of the game on a man-up goal.
• Hartford halted the Bobcats' run and put Quinnipiac away with their game-ending, three-goal rally. A Quinnipiac turnover forced by Hartford defender Conor Daley led to the equalizer, while junior Dylan Protesto's win out of the ensuing faceoff was key to the Hawks netting the go-ahead marker.

 
INSIDE THE NUMBERS:

• The Hawks' defense had another impressive outing, limiting the Bobcats to single-digits in scoring for just the second time this season. In addition, Hartford held Feldman – Quinnipiac's top goal-scorer and the second leading scorer in the nation – to just one goal.
• Over their last two outings, Hartford has conceded just 6.0 goals per game (3 to Jacksonville, 9 to Quinnipiac).
• Protesto was a force to be reckoned with inside the faceoff circle for the Hawks. He won 16-of-22 duels and matched a season-high in ground balls with 12 as Hartford controlled the category with a 34-21 advantage.
• The Hawks were perfect in clears on the night, going 14-of-14. Quinnipiac, which was unsuccessful in four of its 19 clearing opportunities, was forced into 15 turnovers by Hartford's defense.
• Sophomore Claude Bradshaw recorded four of Hartford's six caused turnovers, marking a career high for the defender.
• Two of Quinnipiac's goals came on 6-on-5 situations, as the Bobcats converted on half of their extra-man opportunities. Hartford was held scoreless in its two man-up chances.
• Feiner, who has recorded at least one point in each of the Hawks' last 15 games, extended his goal-scoring streak to 14 games. He entered the weekend sporting the nation's fifth-longest goal-scoring streak.

 
NEXT ON TAP:
The Hawks play the first of three-straight home games on Tuesday, March 14, hosting Marist at 3 p.m. Hartford is also slated to face UMass (March 18) and Stony Brook (March 26) during its second-longest homestand of the year.