March 22, 2008

Final Stats

Loudonville, N.Y. - Junior attackman Chris Zarins led all scorers with five points including a hat trick as the Siena men's lacrosse team zipped past Hartford 10-4 this afternoon at Siena Turf Field. Junior captain Kenny Mazzone added a pair of goals as the Saints (5-2) defeated the Hawks (0-7) for the second straight season in non-conference action.

Both squads got off to a sluggish start on the offensive end thanks in large part to a strong all-around defensive effort coupled with some offensive miscues. The Hawks swarming defense forced 13 Siena turnovers in the first half, yet the Green and Gold hung tough.

Brendan Murphy broke the stalemate for Siena as he opened the scoring with his third goal of the year coming with 4:33 remaining in the first. But the Hawks struck back with a pair of tallies to take their first and only lead of the contest at 2-1 following Steve Roop's first goal of the season at the 13:37 mark of the second period.

Siena's attack then picked up steam as Zarins and Matt Girsh added a pair of goals late in the half as the Saints took a 3-2 lead entering intermission.

After what was a close, hard fought first half, the Saints completely dominated the second half and made it five unanswered goals when Mike Lashomb struck for his ninth goal of the season to catapult the Green and Gold to a 6-2 lead with 2:25 remaining in the third.

The Hawks got as close as 7-4 early in the fourth, but Siena scored the final three goals of the game to win going away.

After a 14-13 Siena edge in groundballs in the first half, the Saints, who outscored Hartford 7-2 in the second, dominated as well in scooping 27 groundballs to just 11 for the Hawks in the second stanza. The Green and Gold also harbored a commanding 37-17 edge in shots for the game and won 11 of their 17 face-off opportunities.

Michael Cudmore was the lone Hawk to record a multi-point performance as he tallied a goal and an assist. Other top Siena performers included Girsh who added a goal and an assist and has now scored in all seven games this season.

Siena's defense was strong throughout, forcing the Hawks into 22 turnovers. Senior captain J.P. Mulhall led the back line causing a pair of turnovers while picking up a game-high eight groundballs.

The Saints will look to run their winning streak to three straight when they head back on the road to battle Saint John's on Tuesday. Game time is slated for 3 p.m. from Queens, N.Y.