SPRINGFIELD, Mass. - The University of Hartford men's lacrosse team fought hard this Wednesday evening against Western New England University, ultimately falling short with a 14-13 decision that stretched into a fifth quarter. 

Rapid Recap:

• The Golden Bears opened the scoring within the first two minutes of action with Logan Jenkins sneaking one in right by Hawks defensive line. Hartford was unable to maintain possession of the game and were forced to make errors coming out of the face-off circle. WNE built off their opening goal momentum and drained their second goal of the match within the next few minutes. Hartford responded when they needed to as sophomore Ian Reynolds (Queensbury, N.Y.) won a key face-off battle to find  junior Colin Reilly (Southington, Conn.) who found the team's first goal of the match. Sophomore Gavin Pelletier (Southington, Conn.) evened the score to make it 2-2 midway through the quarter. The teams traded back lead exchanges as they moved through the first the Golden Bears pulled out on top scoring the last goal under two minutes on the clock making the score now 4-3.
• WNE started the quarter pushing their advantage with a goal from Jacob Roy to claim a 5-3 lead. Hartford answered with goals from junior Aidan Ezra (New Milford, Conn.) and sophomore Nick Ugolini (Agawam, Mass.) to tie it at 5-5. Hartford's defense ramped up with key ground ball pick ups and solid clear attempts, while senior Andrew Leibold (Chula Vista, Calif.) in net made several saves to keep the Golden Bears at bay. Pelletier added two goals to cushion their lead and switch the narrative as the Hawks moved into the third quarter now ahead, 8-6.
• The Hawks started strong, winning the opening face off and forcing early saves. Sophomore Shaun Wright (Frederick, Md.) scored off an assist from Reilly tallying up to 9-6. Thomas Labbe for the Golden Bears chimed in with a swift goal to bring down the differential to two. Despite the WNE push, the Hawks found most of their offensive success in this quarter capitalizing on two extra-man opportunities, one claimed in transition as the returning player made its way back onto the field. The Hawks moved into the fourth ahead 11-8.
• This fourth quarter was a battle, the Hawks came out firing with a strong offensive surge with early shots from Ezra and Ugolini. Junior Maxton McPhee (Dudley, Mass.) nabbed the first goal to add to their lead to make it a 4-goal gain over WNE at 12-8. Yet, WNE chipped away the lead with back to back goals, the Hawks were unable to slow their pressure and the Golden Bears were successful drilling in clean shots as the clock winded down. Jacob Roy for WNE collected the tying goal at the 2:15 mark. Hartford had a late possession, but junior Michael Novotny's (Cornwall, N.Y.) final shot was saved by Jeffery Woktowicz in net for the Golden Bears.
• WNE won the opening faceoff in extra minutes, David Noel secured the ground ball and found the stick of Logan Jenkins. Jenkins got the job done scoring the game-winning goal to give WNE a 14-13 win. 

• Pelletier led the Hawks with his four goals along with one ground ball pick up. Ugolini shared second place with Wright both taking home two goals each. Wright also nabbed an assist in this match up for three points in the evening. 
• Reynolds went 15-26 in the face-off circle picking up nine ground balls along with one assist.
• Leibold put up 14 saves in the 24 shots on net from WNE playing the full 52 minutes of this game.

Up Next:
The Hawks remain on the road now heading to Maine to face off against the University of New England this Saturday, April 11th at 4:00 P.M.

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