Hartford Dominates Faceoffs, Upends UMBC
from press release
BALTIMORE—UMBC’s three-game winning
streak came to an end in men’s lacrosse, as visiting Hartford
(4-10, 1-4 America East) dominated the face-off circle and nipped
the Retrievers (4-8, 3-2 America East), 14-12.
UMBC had already locked up the second seed in the America East
Conference Tournament and will host a to-be-determined opponent on
Wednesday, May 5, at 7:30 p.m.
Senior attackman Matt Latham (Eldersburg, Md./Liberty) one of a
program-high 16 seniors honored before the game, led all goal
scorers with four. He added an assist and was UMBC’s America
East Player of the Game.
Hartford junior face-off specialist Tim Fallon won 24 of 30 draws
in the game, helping his team dominate time of possession in the
final 45 minutes of the game. Fallon was the Hawks’ Player of
the Game, while sophomore attackman Ryan Compitello led a balanced
effort with two goals and three assists.
The Retrievers made it look easy in the early stages of the game,
as Latham scored twice and senior midfielder Maxx Davis (Baltimore,
Md./Friends) and junior middie Jamie Kimbles (Centreville,
Md./Queen Anne’s) added goals to give the hosts a 4-0 lead 11
minutes into the game. But Hartford got on the scoreboard twice in
the final 2:15 of the quarter to halve the deficit after 15
minutes.
UMBC senior defender Matt Kresse (Setauket, N.Y./Ward Melville)
scored his first career goal, finishing a fast break 1:25 into the
second quarter to give the Retrievers a 5-2 lead, but the Hawks
closed the half on a 5-1 run to take a 7-6 lead into the locker
room.
After Hartford attackman Aidan Genik and Latham traded goals to
open the third quarter, Hartford went on a critical 3-0 run to open
up an 11-7 margin with 3:34 remaining in the stanza. UMBC would
score five more times, but did not win a face off after any of the
five goals and could not close to within a pair of scores until
freshman Scott Jones (Port Moody, B.C.) trimmed the margin to 14-12
with 2:50 remaining.
UMBC attempted seven shots in the final 2:05, but did not hit the
cage on the first five and Hartford netminder Scott Bement stopped
the final two desperation attempts in the final 23 seconds.
Fallon won 14 of 17 draws in the middle 30 minutes of the game.
Davis amassed four points with a goal and three assists, while
senior midfielder Kyle Wimer (Lancaster, Pa.) added two goals and
an assist.
Hartford sophomore attackman Carter Bender led his side with three
goals. Bement made nine saves, matching UMBC freshman
netminder Adam Cohen’s (Arnold, Md./Severn School) of nine.
The Retrievers outshot the Hawks, 37-33.
UMBC will advance to the tournament semifinals for the seventh time
in seven league seasons and will host a playoff game for the sixth
time in the same span.
