The Hawkeyes continued their league domination on Monday night in the Upstate Collegiate Box Lacrosse League as they downed the Buffaloes 23-11.
The Hawkeyes had an extra boost this week as their coaches, Dan Coates and Ryland Rees, returned from the World Lacrosse Championships in San Diego. The Hawkeyes had 11 different goal scorers in the dominant win.
Zach Terry led the group with five goals, which puts him at 18 through five games so far this summer. Dylan Snow notched a six-point night as he tallied a hat trick and three assists. The big game came for 16-year-old Colin Duncan; he notched two goals and six assists for an eight-point night. The Hawkeyes were backstopped by Taylor Jungermann who filled in for starter John Jacobs. Jungermann posted 16 saves and earned the Crossbar Athletics Player of the Game for his performance.
This game first showed the potential for a defensive grudge match with neither team looking poised to budge through the opening minutes of the game. Eventually, the Hawkeyes opened the scoring from the transition game as Austyn Kelly scored the fast break goal to put the green and gold on the board.
ROCHESTER, NEW YORK – JULY 10: UCBLL :: Hawkeyes v Buffaloes :: July 10, 2023 in Rochester, New York, USA. (Photo by Micheline Veluvolu)
The Buffaloes answered back with a transition goal of their own. Tyler Lehan scored his first of two in transition. Just 30 seconds later the Hawkeyes were back in front, and the snowball started to build. Quinn Nolan’s dominant performance at the faceoff dot was a significant factor to that, as the Hawkeyes scored in the seventh, eighth, and ninth minute of the game, winning the following faceoff each time. The Buffaloes got one goal back in the final minute of the quarter, but the Hawkeyes held the lead at 5-2.
The Hawkeyes scored first in the second quarter as well, Snow found twine on the power play as Duncan sent him a nifty behind-the-back pass. It was clear after 10 minutes of the second who would win this game. The Hawkeyes scored six more goals in the second, and Buffalo had no way to gain possession of the ball, let alone score. By the end of the first half the score was 12-5. After the first half, the Hawkeyes had seven multi-point scorers. On the defensive end, the Hawkeyes had only allowed 10 shots.
Rochester didn’t take the foot off the gas as it opened the second half. Nolan’s faceoff wins led to three goals in the opening three minutes of the half. Terry was able to tally his third and fourth goals in those opening minutes. The 10-goal lead was all but set in at this point.
ROCHESTER, NEW YORK – JULY 10: UCBLL :: Hawkeyes v Buffaloes :: July 10, 2023 in Rochester, New York, USA. (Photo by Micheline Veluvolu)
Matthew Blythe finished his hat trick next for the Hawkeyes while extending the lead to 11. Nick Cartmill got into the goal-scoring column for the first time on Monday to make it 17-5. The next five minutes were the most successful of the night for Buffalo. They went on a four-goal run through the back stretch of the third and looked to show their identity on the floor as a team that stopped shots and drove play through transition.
When the goals came that late though it was all for not as The Hawkeyes scored one more and went to the third quarter intermission with a 17-9 lead.
Despite the comfortable lead in the fourth, the Hawkeyes didn’t stop putting the ball in the back of the net. Dylan Snow scored on the power play and in even strength in the final frame to complete his hat trick. Terry scored his fifth goal of the day, and Duncan notched his final two points, a goal and an assist.
Buffalo got two more back in the closing five minutes, but the game was in the books long before that attempt. The Hawkeyes headed home with a 23-11 win in the books, one of the highest scores ever in the UCBLL.
The Hawkeyes (5-0) will now prepare for The Rapids (2-3) next. There’s potential for a serious faceoff battle between Nolan and the Rapids Jack Bird. They will play the second game of Wednesday’s double header at 9:00 p.m.