The season-opening game of the Upstate Collegiate Box Lacrosse League (UCBLL) was a thrilling back-and-forth affair for the first three quarters before the Hawkeyes (1-0) pulled away in the fourth quarter to defeat the Armory (0-1) 13-10 on Monday at Genesee Valley Sports Complex.
The Hawkeyes, who had five players with multi-point games in their comeback effort, were led offensively by forwards Dylan Snow (2+3) and Nicholas Miller (3+2) as they each posted a game-high five points. Forwards Zachary Terry (3+0), Bailey Martin (1+2) and Rocco Santillo (2+0) all recorded multiple points while Dean Zervos and Colt Green rounded out the scoring as they each scored once. Aaron Tebo and Connor Thornton each notched an assist in the win.
Goaltender Kyle Meagher (0-0) got his first start of the season in net and made 15 saves in the first half while John Jacobs (1-0) finished the contest stopping 10 of the 12 shots he faced to earn the win as appeared in the final two quarters.
The Armory offense was fueled by forwards Mark Henderson (1+3), Mark Belles (3+0) and Tyler Goode (1+2) as they all logged a multi-point performance. Transition man Daniel Fuller tallied three goals while Blake Terry and Shane Roach both netted one goal apiece. Goaltender William Dempsey had 37 saves but suffered the defeat in-between Armory’s pipes.
Facing a 10-7 deficit going into the final quarter of regulation, the Hawkeyes scored a pair of goals 1:05 apart from Zachary Terry and Snow to even the score at near the 10:00 mark.
Following the fifth tie of the contest, the Hawkeyes continued to carry the momentum as Terry capped off his hat-trick performance sandwiched between Miller’s goals to make it a 12-10 lead.
The Hawkeyes ended their run of six unanswered goals with 1:17 remaining as Snow added a power-play marker to seal the 13-10 come-from-behind victory.
In the first quarter, the clubs exchanged goals twice before Fuller provided the Armory with a 3-2 lead going into the second as he notched an even strength marker with 6:39 to play.
After Roach added a power-play goal 1:41 into the second quarter, the Hawkeyes countered back with three straight to take their first lead of the matchup as they held a 5-4 advantage at the midway point. The lead was short-lived, however, as the Armory responded back with four unanswered goals to take an 8-5 cushion into the intermission.
During the third frame, the Hawkeyes scored a pair of markers to pull within one, but the Armory answered with two more goals to make it a 10-7 score going into the final quarter.
As the fourth quarter began, the Hawkeyes faced a three-goal deficit, but they used a six-goal run to earn the 13-10 victory as Zachary Terry, Snow and Miller all tacked on a pair of markers.
The next game slated to take place for the Upstate Collegiate Box Lacrosse League is set for Tuesday, June 14 when the Hawkeyes face the Rapids at 6 p.m. match followed by the Buffaloes and the Armory at 8 p.m. Both contests will be played at The Classic Rink in East Aurora.
