WEST HARTFORD, Conn. – The Hartford men's lacrosse team held off a late charge to defeat Stony Brook, 12-11, on Al-Marzook Field in its America East opener on Saturday. Junior midfielder Owen Trepeta netted his first career hat trick to pace the Hawks (1-6, 1-0 AE), while Connor Grippe scored three goals to lead Stony Brook (3-4, 0-1 AE).
 
HARTFORD 12, STONY BROOK 11
 
Behind goals from junior Ty Thompson, Trepeta and senior Dylan Jinks, the Hawks jumped out to a 3-0 lead right out of the gates. Scoring three of the next four, the Seawolves would pull within one at 5-4 before the end of the half on a Connor Grippe unassisted score inside the final minute.
 
The Hawks got off to another hot start to open the second half, scoring four of the first five goals to open up their largest lead of the game — a four-goal advantage at 9-5 — with 8:02 to go. Stony Brook managed to slash that deficit in half, but back-to-back scores, including a buzzer beater by senior Alex Borja, sent Hartford into the final quarter with an 11-7 lead.
 
A dominant final quarter allowed the Seawolves to come back and make it a game. After the two sides exchanged a score, Stony Brook scored three times in the final 2:28 to pull within one. Grippe provided the goal that cut the Hawks' lead to one with 39 seconds left, and following a Hartford violation on the ensuing faceoff, Stony Brook had two looks at the potential game-tying score, but each attempt was off the mark as time expired.
 
INSIDE THE BOX & NOTES

• Jinks registered a multi-goal game for the seventh time in as many games, adding three assists for a game-high five points
• Senior Nolan Little went 13-for-25 at the faceoff X
• Earning his first collegiate win in goal, freshman Cam Logan had a solid game, finishing with a career-best 14 saves
• Michael Bollinger, his counterpart, registered 15 stops between the posts for Stony Brook in the losing effort
• Trepeta, who entered the season with two points on his career, has tallied 15 so far this season behind four multi-goal games
• The Seawolves held a 40-35 advantage in shots, but Hartford held a 27-25 advantage in shots on goal
• With each side finishing with 13 faceoff victories, the Hawks controlled the ground ball battle by a 34-22 margin
• Hartford's win ended a seven-game skid against its league foes

 
NEXT ON TAP
The Hawks hit the road for their next three, beginning with a tilt at in-state foe Quinnipiac on Tuesday. Opening faceoff from Hamden is set for 3 p.m.