THE BASICS:
 
RESULT: Hartford 14, Sacred Heart 12
RECORDS: Hartford (5-7); Sacred Heart (7-5)
LOCATION: Al-Marzook Field at Alumni Stadium (West Hartford, Conn.)
 
PHOTO GALLERY

THE LEAD:
A barrage of late goals in the fourth quarter propelled the University of Hartford men's lacrosse team to a come-from-behind win against in-state foe Sacred Heart at Al-Marzook Field on Tuesday night. Three Hawks registered hat tricks in the outing, led by senior Alec Brown, who surpassed the 100-point mark on his career with four points and two assists.

Senior Jaedon Henderson and sophomore Dylan Jinks rounded out the Hawks' hat tricks, contributing three goals apiece. The trio came up huge in crunch time, combining to score five of the game's final six goals over the last 10:48 to help Hartford erase an 11-9 deficit and claim the win. Max Tuttle paced Sacred Heart in the losing effort with four goals.
 
THE TURNING POINT:
Facing a 12-11 deficit with 8:28 remaining, Hartford scored three goals in the last six minutes to come away with the win. Brown sparked the rally and pulled the two sides even with his 100th career point before Henderson rifled in the go-ahead with 82 seconds left. Jinks rounded out Hartford's run on the ensuing faceoff, capitalizing on an empty-net goal to give his team the two-goal cushion inside the last minute.
 
HOW IT HAPPENED:

• Hartford benefited from a hot start in the first quarter, scoring four of the game's first five goals to take the early 4-1 lead. That advantage grew to four goals in the opening moments of the second, as Henderson finished a feed from Will Dulin to make it a 5-1 game.
• The Pioneers made a dent in their deficit before the end of the half, though, as Brian Masi and Joe Saggese strung together scores within a stretch of 102 seconds to close the gap to 5-3.
• Four saves from junior Ryan Vanderford, who finished with 13 stops, kept Sacred Heart to just three goals. With 6:53 left, Brown tacked on another Hawks' score to make it a 6-3 lead at the break.
• Spotting Sacred Heart a quick goal to start the third, Hartford went on to take its largest lead of the game – a four-goal edge – behind scores from junior Griffin Feiner and sophomore Alex Borja 47 seconds apart.
• The remainder of the third quarter belonged to the Pioneers, as they responded with a 5-0 run to take their first lead of the game. Tuttle accounted for each of the Pioneers' last three goals, including the equalizer with 4:06 remaining and the go-ahead tally with 3:03 to go.
• Before the end of the quarter, Feiner knotted up the goal with 72 seconds left on his 27th goal of the year, but Masi and Tuttle opened up the fourth with goals to push Sacred Heart's lead to two at 11-9 with 11:41 left.
• Despite the deficit, the Hawks never backed down, as they closed out the game with a 5-1 run. Jinks and Brown each struck twice during that rally, while Henderson found the back of the net for the game-winner with 1:22 left to play.

 
INSIDE THE NUMBERS:

• In the absence of Hartford's top faceoff guy Dylan Protesto, the Hawks struggled at the X, going just 6-of-20 in the first three quarters. Freshman Nicholas Vazquez helped the Hawks pick up the slack, fueling the comeback by winning 6-of-9 in the final quarter.
• Vazquez finished the game winning 60 percent of his duels (6-of-10) while matching a game-best in ground balls with eight.
• The Pioneers held commanding advantages in shots (46-28) and ground balls (44-35).
• Sacred Heart went perfect in clears, going 17-of-17, while the Hawks were nearly flawless on the night, finishing 17-of-18.
• The Hawks continued their success on the man-up, converting on their lone attempt of the night. Sacred Heart scored on one of its four EMOs.

 
NEXT ON TAP:
The Hawks take to Al-Marzook Field at Alumni Stadium for the final time in 2017, hosting UMBC on Saturday, April 22, in a key America East matchup. The contest, which will be broadcast live on ESPN3, marks Hartford's Senior Day, as the Hawks' 11 veterans will be honored prior to the noon opening faceoff.