FREDERICK, Md. – The Hood College men's lacrosse team pulled out a gritty win against University of New England, fighting through the cold and wind for a 6-5 win on faculty appreciation night.
Inside the Box Score
Danny McElroy (Frederick, Md./Saint James) led the Blazers with two goals.
JT Harich (Point of Rocks, MD./Brunswick) ended the evening with a goal and two assists.
Lucas Strand (Robbinsville, N.J./Robbinsville) picked up eight ground balls.
Trent Leuba (New Freedom, Pa./Susquehannock) made 12 saves in the win.
How it Happened
Although neither team could find its offensive footing for its first few possessions, the Nor'easters got on the board first when Ean LaRochelle slotted a shot in the bottom corner just past Leuba. Hood worked quickly though, forcing a turnover on the
Nor'easters' next possession that allowed McElroy to rip one past the goalie and tie the game just three minutes later.
Those would be the only goals of the first quarter, but the Blazers came out hot to start the second, with
Isiac Nafziger (Millersville, Pa./Penn Manor) giving them the lead just 19 seconds in. That lead would be doubled when
Nick Horton (Aston, Pa/Sun Valley) scored his second of the season, and
Deegan Workman (Chattanooga, Tenn./Soddy Daisy) made it 4-1 Hood with just over two minutes in the half.
UNE knew it needed to get some kind of momentum back though and managed to slip a shot past Leuba with 1:08 left to cut the Blazers' lead to two before heading into the locker room for halftime.
Whatever the Nor'easters talked about in the locker room clearly kicked them into gear, as the visitors came out and stopped everything Hood threw at them while also scoring two goals that ended up being the only of the quarter to make it a brand-new game 4-4 heading into the fourth quarter.
Harich saw the Blazers needed a boost to make sure both the team and the home crowd was energized and ripped home a goal to go up by one less than four minutes in.
After that, offense was practically nowhere to be found, as each team spent 10 minutes exchanging turnovers. McElroy broke the streak with his second of the game at the 1:10 mark. That tally ended up being the game-winner, as UNE got one back just 29 seconds later, but Hood managed to win the ensuing faceoff and run the clock out to cement the win.
For the Opponent
Stephen Fogarty and LaRochelle both scored two goals.
Grant Isdale made 10 saves for the Nor'easters.
Notes
The Blazers' win streak hits five after dropping their first two games of the season as they move to 5-2 with one non-conference game remaining.
Up Next
Hood travels to Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania for a matchup against Chatham University Saturday, March 21 at 4 p.m.
