NEW LONDON, Conn. - The University of Hartford men's lacrosse team fell short against Connecticut College this Saturday with a final score of 12-5.

Rapid Recap:

• The Camels struck first in the opening quarter, breaking through at the 13:36 mark after three at goal attempts until finally completing a goal to take an early 1-0 lead. Within seven seconds of Conn College's first goal they once again found the back of the net, both goals off the stick of Andrew Rainville. The Hawks attempted to retaliate with a strong shot from junior Aidan Ezra (New Milford, Conn.) to force the Camels' goalie to make a last minute save to maintain their lead. The Hawks were faced with intense pressure and were unable to maintain possession, losing the ball off of forced turnovers all over the field. The Hawks conceded two more goals in this opening quarter as they were unable to break through the Camels' defense. 
• The Hawks were not discouraged yet, as they opened this second quarter with four shots at net, Ezra unfortunately hit the post unable to put any points on the board in the first minutes. On the other end; the Camels moved up the field with strength, finding their fifth unanswered finish at 10:24. The closest attempt the Hawks had in this second was on a man-up opportunity with just three minutes remaining. Ezra and junior Michael Novotny (Cornwall, N.Y.) launched shots at the Camels' goalie Patrick Hogan. Hogan kept the Hawks off the board yet again to close out this second quarter, while Isaiah Kozub found some success in finding the back of the net in the final minute of the first half, pushing their advantage to 6-0 over the Hawks.
• Coming out of halftime, Hartford looked to chip away at the deficit, sophomore Gavin Pelletier (Southington, Conn.) showed his resilience being the first Hawk to score this game so far, telling the Camels to not count them out just yet. The Hawks found most of their success in this third quarter, Pelletier leading the charge dropping a hat-trick on Conn College, along with Ezra finding the back of the net off a swift pass by sophomore Nick Ugolini (Agawam, Mass.). The Hawks now trailed by just three with six minutes to go in the third. The Camels had the final word, slipping another goal by Hartford's defense to make it eight this time the goal was scored by Matthew Sofarelli.
• Both teams struggled to maintain possession in this final period, trading turnovers and ground balls. In similar fashion to the first three periods, the Camels seemed to find the gaps and were successful in their shot attempts. The Camels scored three goals in this final period only allowing one from the Hawks. Novotny was the Hawk to try and keep them in this game, scoring with just five minutes to go but unfortunately the Camels did the work early to set the distance in the first three periods. The final score stood at 12-5 on the road for Hartford.

• Pelletier dropped a hat-trick today along with picking up one ground ball. Ezra also got the Hawks on the board today with one goal, one assist, and one ground ball. Novotny scored one goal this afternoon and picked up one ground ball.
• On the defensive end, DiDomizio caused two turnovers from the Camels.
• The Camels leader was Will Zaslow adding three goals, one assist, and one ground ball to earn four points to this contest.
• Junior Ben Costanzo (Chester, Conn.) went 5-13 in the faceoff, while Max Garro and Ardem Sarajian for the Camels shared a 6-10 record at the face-off spot today.

Up Next:
The Hawks will stay on the road as they take on Western Connecticut State next Saturday, March 7th with a start time of 2:30 P.M.