PHILADELPHIA – The first game in the birth of the sponsorship of Atlantic 10 men's lacrosse did not disappoint, the Hawks fending off Richmond in a contested 14-12 outing on Saturday afternoon on Sweeney Field.
 
Through the rain and shine, the Hawks clawed back from a three-goal deficit in the third to move to 5-4 on the year and 1-0 in conference play. The Spiders fall to 5-4 on the season, 0-1 in the A-10.
 
HOW IT HAPPENED

• Both sides traded goals through the opening 10 minutes, a back-and-forth game giving the visitors a 4-3 edge with five minutes on the clock. Richmond tallied a fifth of the quarter with just over a minute to play to end the opening frame with a 5-3 advantage.
• A near 19-minute drought from the Hawks was finally ended with three minutes remaining in the first half, neither team finding the back of the net until a Stephen Dwyer goal closed the gap to one. Dwyer found the netting for his second in three minutes, capitalizing on an extra-man opportunity as the Hawks drew level at 5-5 headed into the break.
• Richmond took no time to draw first blood in the third quarter, scoring three-straight over the course of 2:30 to take an 8-5 advantage.
• Less thana minute later, Mac McLaughlin capped off a solo run, cutting through the Spiders' web and finishing past the goalkeeper.
• St. Joe's continued the goal scoring just 16 seconds later, Zach Cole getting things started with a face-off win. Carter Page found space deep in the heart of the Richmond defense, finding Cole who stayed out in the attack as the veteran unleashed a quick attempt to cut the deficit in half.
• With Richmond gaining a goal back, William King altered the momentum of the game with his seventh goal of the year before Dwyer found himself closed in by three Richmond defenders, weaving his way out of the seemingly inevitable jam before finishing from close as the Hawks tied the game at nine apiece headed into the final 15 minutes.
• After the visitors once again opened the quarter with the first goal, the Hawks again found a response through Levi Anderson. Looking like the Canadian attacker was running out of room, Anderson turned and fired a no looker into the back of the net over his right shoulder to draw the roar from the Hawk faithful in the stands.
• Another man-up opportunity looked to be capitalized on for the Hawks, Tucker Brown taking it upon himself to answer the call. With the game tied at 11, the midfielder dodged through defenders before stumbling as he made his way to the center of the field. Off balanced, Brown fired low as he was falling to the ground and the ball rippled the netting, giving the Hawks a lead with 3:29 to play.
• A crucial stop gave the Hawks possession with just over a minute remaining, and as Levi Verch found Colin Reich in midfield, the senior turned and saw the goalkeeper out and rifled an effort from his own half that soared into the goal to double the lead.
• The Hawks added another through a Cole face-off win on the ensuing opportunity, Levi Anderson scoring his hat trick with 34 seconds left after escaping a double team with a free route to goal. The Spiders tallied a consolation goal with 18 seconds remaining before the Hawks ran out the remaining clock for an A-10 opening win on Sweeney Field.

 
GAME NOTES

• The Hawks move to 2-1 all-time against the Spiders, 2-0 when playing at Sweeney Field. The 14 goals for the Hawks was more than the previous two meetings combined (12).
• Hat tricks highlighted the Hawk offense as Levi Anderson, Carter Page and Stephen Dwyer all recorded three goals in the win.
• Page moves his scoring streak to 21 games, tallying 64 goals in the span dating back to March 11, 2022.
• Anderson has collected at least three goals in seven of the nine games on the year, having failed to record fewer than three goals when finding the score sheet.
• Dwyer continues to produce in his recent addition into the starting lineup, recording his first hat trick as a member of the Crimson and Gray.
• Zach Cole was 18-31 from the X with a game-high 10 ground balls, while Patrick Clemens had seven ground balls in his defensive performance.
• For the second-consecutive game, Shayne Ryan had a 13 save performance in the cage for the Hawks. The sophomore collected his first collegiate win. 

UP NEXT

• The Hawks move back to non-conference play in a midweek matchup against Monmouth, facing off against the Hawks in a 2:30 p.m. time on Tuesday, April 4.