WEST HARTFORD, Conn. — Junior Birdie Montes scored a career-high five goals while Melissa Gratwicke netted her first career hat trick, but a dominate second half was not enough for the Hawks, as they fell, 18-12, to visiting Radford on Saturday afternoon. With the defeat, the Hawks drop to 0-7 while the Highlanders improved to 2-6 on the year.
 
RADFORD 18, HARTFORD 12
Radford opened up the game on a 3-0 run before Montes tallied her first goal of the game with 19:47 remaining in the first half. Montes would score once more in the first half while Lauren Wehner also added her name to the scoresheet in the stanza. 
 
Taking a 12-3 lead into the break, the Highlanders opened the second half on another 3-0 run. But the Hawks would respond by going off for seven of the game's next eight goals. Fueling the stretch was a 5-0 run, with Gratwicke's third goal  cutting the deficit to 16-9. Montes would then round out her tremendous scoring output, netting her fifth of the game to cut the deficit to six with 2:11 remaining in the second half. Hartford would stay in the game late, trading goals with Radford, but the second-half rally would ultimately fall short.
 
INSIDE THE BOX & NOTES

• Montes' lead the way with five goals and one assist for a team-high six points
• Her five goals set a new career-high for the junior
• Ashlee Smestad dished out a team-high three assists
• Debbie Phillips contributed to the scoring, netting two goals and tallying two assists
• Sophomore goalie Emma Privitera registered seven saves while Hanna Ramsey tallied five saves
• Freshman Shannon Tuozzo forced a pair of turnovers to pace the Hawks defensively
• The ground ball battle was tight, with the Highlanders holding a 17-16 edge
• Radford held a 21-11 advantage in draw controls
• Margaret Gleason paced the Highlanders with two goals and four assists for six points

NEXT ON TAP
The homestand continues with two more Saturday dates. Hartford first takes on Siena on March 14 (2 p.m.), before it welcomes Binghamton to Al-Marzook Field for its America East opener on March 21 (2 p.m.). Tickets can be purchased by calling 860-768-HAWK, or by clicking here.