The University of Hartford’s men’s lacrosse team traveled to Victor, N.Y. Saturday, Feb. 23, to take on the Canisius Golden Griffins at the Pinnacle Sports Complex. Canisius started hot in this one, scoring four unanswered to open the first quarter. Down four, something sparked in the Hawks, leading them to rally back with five straight goals, ending the first quarter holding a 5-4 lead. Two quick goals separated by only 14 seconds were scored by sophomore Tyler Corpora, and Freshman Malcolm Bell to increase Hartford’s lead to 7-4 with 10:20 remaining in the second. Canisius would follow up and score two of the final three goals going into intermission, closing out the half trailing Hartford 8-6.

Unfortunately for the Hawks, the third quarter was all Golden Griffins. Coming out of halftime, Canisius fired away, scoring all eight goals of the quarter. This 14-8 deficit carrying into the third would be too much to overcome for Hartford. In the fourth, Hartford put together what looked like might be a comeback bid with four straight scores before Canisius iced it with two final goals of their own. Canisius took the win in this one 16-12 over Hartford.

The Hawks effort was led by a few key performers in this one. In just the second game of the season, senior Dylan Jinks scored his second hat trick. Three goals, all scored consecutively in the fourth quarter, led the team. Sophomores Tyler Corpora and Owen Trepeta also cashed in with two goals each, both being a career high.  Senior Nolan Little also led the Hawks inside the faceoff circle going 10-21, with five ground balls.

After their tight loss to Marist on Feb. 26, Hartford men’s lacrosse sits at 0-3 on the young season.  The Hawks will look to turn things around when they take on Harvard at home Saturday, March 2.