DANBURY, Conn. - Despite a hat trick from senior attack Tristan McMahon (Farmingville, Conn.), the Western Connecticut State University men's lacrosse team was edged by the University of Hartford, 10-8, in a non-conference matchup on Saturday afternoon at the Westside Athletic Complex. Junior midfielder James Krieg (Port Jefferson, N.Y.) chipped in two goals in the losing effort.

Four different Hawks registered two goals apiece for the winners. But the game-changing moment occurred when the visitors swapped goalies. Trailing 5-3 heading into the second quarter, Hartford inserted senior Andrew Leibold (Chula Vista, Calif.) who recorded eight saves, while surrendering just three goals en route to his first win of the season. WestConn sophomore netminder Jake Kelly (Bethpage, N.Y.) was solid between the pipes but took the loss while turning aside 15 shots.

The hosts seized the early momentum as they jumped out to a 3-0 lead. McMahon tallied his second marker of the contest to give WestConn a 5-3 advantage heading into the second stanza. But the Hawks erased the deficit with a run to deadlock the count at 6-6 heading into halftime. Sophomore middie Galvin Pelletier (Southington, Conn.) netted a pair of goals during the spurt. 

Hartford took its first lead of the game less than two minutes into the third when junior midfielder Aidan Ezra (New Milford, Conn.) tickled the twine. Junior attack Michael Novotny (Cornwall, N.Y.) scooped up a loose ball and fired a shot into the net, giving the Hawks a 9-8 leading at the end of the quarter. Ezra canned his second goal with 11:52 remaining to extend the visitor's lead to 10-8. Neither squad would score the rest of the way. WestConn had its opportunities but Leibold came up big for the visitors.

With the loss, the Wolves fell to 3-2 overall while the Hawks improved to 2-2. WestConn returns to action when they travel to New Paltz for another non-conference tilt on Tuesday at 4 p.m.



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