CHESTER, Pa. – The Hood College men's lacrosse team kept their playoff hopes alive against Middle Atlantic Conference Commonwealth opponent Widener University, coming away with a 10-9 win.
Inside the Box Score
Alex Odenheimer (Robbinsville, N.J./Robbinsville) scored a hat trick and finished with four points to lead the Blazers.
Isiac Nafziger (Millersville, Pa./Penn Manor) and
Deegan Workman (Chattanooga, Tenn./Soddy Daisy) both ended the evening with three points.
Calvin Morris (Lancaster, Pa./Lancaster Catholic) made 14 saves for a hard-fought win.
Lucas Strand (Robbinsville, N.J./Robbinsville) went 14-19 in the face-off circle, picking up 13 ground balls.
How it Happened
The Pride put pressure on early, forcing Morris to make key saves before the Blazers could get a solid offensive possession. A turnover on a failed Widener clear gave them just the opportunity they needed though, and Odenheimer was able to make a man miss to set up a hands-free snipe to break the ice six and a half minutes in.
After Odenheimer's tally, both offenses seemed to open up, as another goal from Odenheimer was answered by two from the Pride within 15 seconds of each other, but a
JT Harich (Point of Rocks, MD./Brunswick) goal shortly after restored Hood's lead and gave it a 3-2 advantage after the first quarter.
It did not take nearly as long for someone to score in the second, with Workman ripping a shot past the goalie to give the Blazers another two-goal lead. A bit of a dry spell for Hood's offense got it into trouble when Widener scored three straight to take the lead, but a
Regan Tesche (Avondale, Pa./Salesianum School) shot zipped right past the goalie's head to tie things up 5-5, where it would remain into halftime.
Coming out for the second half, the Blazers were given a man-up opportunity just two and a half minutes in and capitalized on it, with Harich scoring his second of the night and once again giving Hood the lead. Although the Pride evened things up halfway through the third, Nafziger was able to make it 7-6 for the Blazers as they headed into the fourth and final quarter.
A Widener goal early in the fourth once again evened things up, but a pair of goals less than a minute apart for Hood, including Odenheimer's third of the game, once again put the Blazers ahead to keep the pressure on the home team. The Pride got within one with less than seven minutes to go, but a long shot from
David Lubrano (Middletown, Del./Appoquinimink) snuck between the legs of goalie Colyn Schmitz to make it a 10-8 game.
Hood would not keep it a multi-goal lead for long, as Widener again got within one with just over two minutes remaining. Although the Blazers were unable to score off the faceoff win to leave the Pride with a minute of offense, they were able to force a
couple of off-balance shots that went wide before Morris made the save of the game with a second remaining to secure a 10-9 victory for Hood.
For the Opponent
Nicholas Knepp scored three goals and finished with five points.
Samuel Haverstrom ended the night with two goals and an assist.
Analysis
Widener outshot Hood 23-19.
The Blazers had 23 turnovers compared to just 11 for the Pride.
Hood had a 15-6 advantage in faceoffs.
Notes
The Blazers improve to 8-5 (3-2), while the Pride drop to 3-11 (1-4), and are eliminated from playoff contention.
Up Next
Hood continues MAC Commonwealth play at home against No. 7 York College (Pa.) Wednesday, April 22 at 6 p.m.
