NORTON, Mass. - The University of Hartford men's lacrosse team drops its 2026 season opener on Saturday falling to Wheaton College by a 12-9 final. 

Rapid Recap:

• The Lyons and Hawks would trade opening goals in the first five minutes with sophomore Nick Ugolini (Agawam, Mass.) getting the first goal of the 2026 season for Hartford. Junior Nick Forgione (Denville, N.J.) gave the Hawks the 2-1 lead scoring a goal on an assist by sophomore Shaun Wright (Frederick, Md.). Wheaton would respond again just a minute later to even the score, but junior Maxton McPhee (Southington, Conn.) kept Hartford in front after a quarter with the third strike of the first 15 minutes. 
• After a stellar save from junior CJ Ledwick (Falmouth, Mass.) the Lyons scored yet again to even the score once more. On the extra-man advantage senior Aidan Kemp (South Orange, N.J.) propelled the visitors in front on an assist by junior Aidan Ezra (New Milford, Conn.). Wheaton would get the momentum in the next nine minutes going on a 3-1 scoring run to take the 6-5 lead with 3:52 left in the half. Junior Mario Alfieri (Goshen, N.Y.) finished off the first half with a goal from Wright as the teams ended the first half tied at 6-6. 
• The Lyons would score the first two goals of the second half to jump in front 8-6. Ezra would score to cut the deficit to just a single goal, but Wheaton scored two more times to take a 10-7 lead into the fourth. 
• The Lyons stayed in front adding two more insurance strikes in the first six minutes of the fourth. Forgione would net the first hat-trick of the season with the eighth goal of the day for the visitors. Junior Ben Costanzo (Chester, Conn.) added the final goal for Hartford as they fell 12-9 in the opener. 

Inside The Numbers:

• Forgione has hit 40 career goals with the hat-trick today. Ezra and Wright each added three points of their own. Aidan scored a goal with two assists, while Shaun had three helpers in the loss. 
• Junior Tarin Prior (Hartford, Vt.) notched a career-high four caused turnovers in the loss with five ground balls. Graduate student Sean Braunwart (Hebron, Conn.) added two causes in the loss. 
• Ledwick picked up the loss playing the first three quarters stopping 13 shots. Senior Andrew Leibold (Chula Vista, Calif.) added two saves in the final 15 minutes. 
• Evan Paturzo led the Lyons with seven goals and an assist to lead Wheaton. 
• The Lyons had a 15-8 face-off advantage while holding Hartford to just 1-4 on the extra man advantage. 

Up Next:
The Hawks will host Vassar College on February 21st with a 12:00 PM start time in West Hartford. 

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