Coming into the week with a record of 2-3, the men’s lacrosse team split decisions in two road games against #19 Hofstra and Manhattan.
On Saturday, the Hawks opened Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC) play by paying a visit to the Jaspers in Riverdale, NY. The blue and white picked up the win in what was a high scoring affair by a final score of 12-8.
Monmouth started the game hot by scoring three first quarter goals courtesy of junior attack Griffin Figel, freshman midfield Rudy Beck, and senior attack/midfield Sean Tornetta. While the Hawks took a 3-1 lead into the second quarter over Manhattan, it quickly evaporated as the Jaspers responded with five goals in the frame. The Hawks tallied another three goals of their own in the second, however the game would be tied at six going into the half.
Monmouth came out of the half by outscoring the Jaspers 6-2 over the remainder of the game. The Hawks scored two goals in third quarter and tacked on another four to close out the game in the fourth. Figel added another goal with 8:44 remaining in the third to put the Hawks on top on the scoreboard for good.
Senior attack Bryce Wasserman led the Hawks on offense during the afternoon, scoring five goals and an assist. Four of the goals he scored came in the second half of the contest. In goal, freshman Noah Lode stood tall, making 12 saves.
Head Coach Brian Fisher admitted that his team wasn’t at their best in the second quarter before picking up their offense in the second half, “In the second quarter, we hit a little bit of a rough patch and I’m proud of our guys in how they responded in the second half. Our veterans, in particular, played really solid second halves and allowed us to pull away and win the game.” The win was Monmouth’s ninth straight (eight straight in regular season play) victory over MAAC opponents.
While the Hawks ended the week on a good note, they dropped a heartbreaker to #19 Hofstra in Hempstead, NY earlier last week on Wednesday. The final score was 7-6 in favor of the Pride.
Hofstra opened the game by scoring two goals in the first quarter and never trailed from there. While the Hawks never held a lead in the game at any point, they rallied back to tie it on three separate occasions. With 9:30 remaining in the game, junior attack Hunter Jones scored his second goal of the day to even the score at six. Hofstra answered by scoring the game-winning goal on a man-advantage with 1:39 left, making it 7-6.
Jones and freshman attack/midfield Brock Anderson each had two goals on the afternoon for the Hawks. Jones’ goal in the fourth quarter was one of two scored by the Hawks in the frame. After adding another four fourth quarter goals against Manhattan, the Hawks are now outscoring their opponents 25-9 in the quarter this season. The defeat was Monmouth’s second on the road this season, with both games being decided by one goal.
“While the outcome wasn’t what we had hoped for, we are happy with the energy and effort that we played with today and the improvements that we made this week,” said Fisher. “Playing hard and improving every day has been the focus for this week and we are looking to take similar strides in the next couple of days as we get ready for conference play.”
The Hawks will take the field again on Saturday when they host Detroit Mercy at Hesse Field on The Great Lawn.
PHOTO COURTESY of Monmouth Athletics
