WEST HARTFORD, Conn. - The University of Hartford men's lacrosse team is back in the Conference of New England (CNE) tournament after another season where the Hawks would clinch the #3 seed in the tournament.
No. 3 University of Hartford Hawks (10-5 Overall, 7-2 CNE)
No. 6 Nichols College Bison (8-9 Overall, 4-5 CNE)
Game Headlines:
The Hawks once again start the CNE tournament at Al-Mazook Field at Alumni Stadium where they will host the Bison. This season Hartford cruised to a 18-7 regular season victory back on April 1st. The Hawks come into the tournament with championship aspirations after falling in the CNE semifinals last year.
Hartford Headlines:
- At home this season the Hawks went unbeaten with a 5-0 overall record in regular season outscoring opponents 83-31 at the Zook.
- The offense has been stellar this season with 202 goals (13.47 per game). Hartford also had its power play unit go 19-50 this season (38.0% success rate). The attack is led by junior Michael Novotny (Cornwall, N.Y.) who has tallied 53 points on 36 goals and 17 assists this season. Sophomore Shaun Wright (Frederick, Md.) put together quite the sophomore season with a conference-leading 33 assists to go with 17 goals for 50 points. Junior captain Aidan Ezra (New Milford, Conn.) registered 48 points (27 goals, 21 assists). Junior Colin Reilly (Southington, Conn.) has also been huge with 44 total points on 36 goals and eight assists.
- Defensively the Hawks start with graduate student Nick DiDomizio (Cheshire, Conn.) who has been the top defender for Hartford over the last two years. Nick ended the year with 22 caused turnovers and 21 ground balls while also drawing the top defensive assignment all year. Senior Tobias Ballester (Westwood, N.J.) follows with 17 caused turnovers and 45 grounders. Other defensive players to look for include junior Tarin Prior (Hartford, Vt.) and junior Trent Beggs (Somers, Conn.) who have been quality defensive midfielders.
- In the cage will be junior CJ Ledwick (Falmouth, Mass.) who holds a 7-4 record this year with 104 saves this season.
- Sophomore Ian Reynolds (Queensbury, N.Y.) had a great year from the face off circle going 144-230 (62.6% face off success rate).
Nichols Highlights:
- The Bison have had a inconsistent 2026 season finishing 8-9 overall. Nichols picked up a pair of huge CNE wins over the University of New England and Johnson & Wales to close our March. On the road the Bison have struggled going only 1-8 away from Dudley.
- The offense is led by Conor Doherty who ended the year with 36 goals and 17 assists. Kane Williams follows with 21 goals and 17 assists. Shea Ullo and Jack Campbell both added 30+ point seasons.
- The defense is led by Cam Ayotte who had 24 caused turnovers with 31 grounders. Colin Bunkley added 23 causes this year.
- Carter Renaud is the number one goalie going 7-9 this year with 192 saves and a save percentage of 51.5%.
- Travis Arnold is the face-off specialist for Nichols going 230-374 (61.5%) from the dot this year.
All-Time Against Nichols:
The Hawks are 3-0 all-time against Nichols College with the last victory coming on April 1st of this year winning 18-7.
ABOUT THE CONFERENCE OF NEW ENGLAND:
Originally founded in 1984 as the Commonwealth Coast Conference (CCC), and reconstituted as the Conference of New England (CNE) in 2024, the CNE is an NCAA Division III athletic conference composed of 11 full member and five associate member institutions throughout the New England region. Its membership aims to provide student-athletes with a positive experience in their pursuit of excellence through high academic standards, quality competition, and a meaningful student life. The Conference administers championships in 21 intercollegiate sports.
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