Long, Hofmeister Key VMI Win Over Presbyterian
from press release
LEXINGTON,Va. - Junior Keith Long had three
goals and four assists while freshman Mickey Hofmeister added a
pair of goals and five assists as the VMI Keydets defeated the
Presbyterian College Blue Hose 15-9 Sat., March 12 at VMI’s
Foster Stadium. Hofmeister’s five assists mark the
third-highest total in program history, while eight other Keydets
scored on the contest in the teams second victory of the
season.
The Keydets (2-3) never trailed in the game, jumping out to a 4-0
lead less than five minutes into the matchup on goals by Long, and
a trio of juniors, Andrew Nieminski, Tyler Griffith, and Drew
Leonard. A Tyler Melnyk goal with 3:39 left in the first put the
Blue Hose (1-4) on the board at 4-1, but junior Colin Bosse
answered right back for the Keydets on a man-down opportunity, the
teams first man-down score since the 2006 campaign, to retake a
four-goal advantage at 5-1. Melnyk, who had five scores on the day,
added his second with 2:15 left in the first to bring the tally to
5-2 heading into quarter number two.
In the second frame, the Keydets busted the contest open,
outscoring PC 6-1. Hofmeister had a hand in the first two goals on
the quarter by junior Dallas Wiggins at the 13:05 mark and
Long’s second tally of the contest at the 12:45 mark. After
another Melnyk goal of the unassisted variety with 10:20 left in
the second, the Keydets closed out the half on a 4-0 run. The run
was keyed by scores by Leonard, Hofmeister, senior Lowell Patterson
and junior Chris Rossie with one second left on the clock to carry
an 11-3 lead into the half.
At the halftime intermission, VMI held a substantial advantage in
shots (27-8), along with a 26-17 groundball differential. The
Keydets also converted 11-of-14 faceoff opportunities. PC did
capitalize on man-up sets, as the Blue Hose converted 3-of-4 in the
first half.
PC showed glimpses on offense in the early portion of the third
quarter, as a pair of Andrew Athens goals in the opening six
minutes of the third to bring the score to 11-5. Long and
Hofmeister hooked up for goals at the 6:06 mark with Hofmeister
finding Long, and Long returned the favor with 3:02 left in the
third for Hofmeister’s second of the day to stretch the
Keydet advantage to 13-5 heading into the fourth quarter of
action.
The Blue Hose outscored the Keydets 4-2 in the final stanza, as
Melnyk added his fourth and fifth goals of the contest, coupled
with Athens’ third score of the day and a goal by Kel
Harrison. VMI’s Eric Alter scored his first-career goal on a
dish from Hofmeister with 13:07 left in the contest, while
Patterson added his second of the contest on a man-up opportunity
with 1:27 left on an assist from Bosse, securing the Keydets the
15-9 victory.
Junior Kelly McMinn started in goal for VMI, and made one save,
improving to 2-3 on the season. He was relieved at halftime by
freshman Pat Johnston, who had a stop as well as a pair of
groundballs. PC keep Jon Athens went the distance in the cage for
PC, making 11 saves and had nine ground balls.
The Keydets outshot the Blue Hose 45-22 on the afternoon, and held
a 55-39 ground ball advantage. Junior Stephen Robarge led the way
in the faceoff X, converting 12-of-15 of his opportunities and had
a team-high nine groundballs, while freshman Christian Addison was
4-of-6 in the faceoff X. The Keydets were also a pristine 22-of-26
on clears on the afternoon to PC’s 22-of-29.
VMI departs for its Spring Break trip on Tues., March 12 and play a
pair of road contests beginning on Weds., March 16 against
Bellarmine at 4 p.m. followed by a tilt with Detroit-Mercy on Sat.,
March 19 at 1 p.m. Live updates can be followed via VMI Twitter
account @VMISID.
