PHILADELPHIA – Ben Dutton scored six goals, setting a rookie program record, as the Saint Joseph's men's lacrosse team handled Providence in a 16-8 display on Saturday afternoon at Sweeney Field.
 
The Hawks improve the win streak to seven games, moving to 7-2 on the season. won six-consecutive games, moving to 6-2 on the season. Providence falls to 4-5 on the season with the loss.
 

HOW IT HAPPENED

• Trae Ika opened the scoring off a dish from Richie LaCalandra in the opening three minutes. LaCalandra added a solo effort moments later to give the Hawks a quick two-goal lead.
• St. Joe's won the ensuing possession and the Hawks capitalized, Braedon Chayes sending a quick feed to Ben Dutton as the freshman-to-freshman connection resulted in the third goal in six minutes to force a Providence timeout.
• Tyler Moore exploded to his left to leave a defender behind before firing past the Providence shot stopper to add to the lead before LaCalandra closed out a 5-0 run from the Hawks over a 12-minute span.
• Providence added a goal in the final two minutes of the opening frame to cut the deficit to 5-1.
• Ika opened the quarter with the first goal once more, LaCalandra feeding the senior at the top of the crease before Ika dunked in from close range.
• Dutton started from behind the frame, finding a gap past his defender before blazing his shot into the net for his second of the day to push the lead to 7-1.
• The Friars looked to close the gap with a pair of goals separated by two minutes, but the Hawks ended the momentum as Ben Dutton recorded his hat trick with five minutes to play. The goal closed out the scoring for the first half, giving the Hawks an 8-3 lead heading into the break.
• Providence opened the second half with an early goal, but the Hawks continued to answer as Dutton registered the next three goals of the game to start an eventual 7-0 run for the Hawks.
• Carter Truesdell opened his account on the season to push the Hawks' lead to eight before St. Joe's closed the quarter with some fireworks. Tommy Gross tabbed a save to trigger a counterattack, sending Jack McGorry on a run the length of the field. The defensive midfielder faked a run through on goal before opting to find Dutton on the wing. Dutton's behind-the-back pass found Ika for a hammer into the net to earn his hat trick and give the hosts a 13-4 lead with 25 seconds remaining in the third quarter.
• Six seconds separated goals from Griffin Mallory and Collin Campbell after Trant won the faceoff from the first goal before feeding Campbell for the quick flurry of goals to push the lead to double-digits.
• Providence scored four of the final five goals of the game to provide consolation while Maliik Wood registered his first goal of his career after Colin Sullivan found the redshirt freshman on the back side of the goal to close out the scoring in the 16-8 win.

 
GAME NOTES

• Ben Dutton scored a game-high six goals, setting a new program record for goals scored by a freshman after having previously matched it with five goals against Monmouth. Dutton surpassed himself, Ryan Doran (2019) and Mike Rastivo (2014).
• The freshman is one goal shy of Dave Wheelock's freshman record of 29 goals scored in a single season, sitting tied with Scott Cullinan (2008) with 28 goals after nine games.
• Dutton has scored multiple goals in the last eight games, including hat tricks in each of the last five.
• Trae Ika netted his second hat trick of the season with three goals in the win.
• Richie LaCalandra has recorded at least five points in each of the last five games, dropping two goals and three assists on the day.
• Tyler Moore continues to impress in his rookie season, adding another goal and two assists to his tally to improve to 11 points (4G, 7A) on the year.
• Carter Truesdell and Maliik Wood scored their first collegiate goal in the win.
• Conor Trant produced a 13-23 effort at the faceoff for a season-best .565-win percentage. The junior added six ground balls and an assist on the day.
• Tommy Gross recorded nine saves on a .600 save percentage in the win, while Charlie Giachetti came in to record two saves in relief.
• St. Joe's held a 44-31 advantage in shots while holding a 31-24 margin in ground balls.
• The Hawks have won the last five games against Providence, tying the all-time series at 11-11.
• St. Joe's has recorded six streaks of at least seven-consecutive wins in head coach Taylor Wray's tenure. The longest win streak prior to Wray's arrival on Hawk Hill was six games to open the 2000 season.

 
UP NEXT
The Hawks open Atlantic 10 play on Sweeney Field on Saturday, March 29. St. Joe's hosts Massachusetts in a 12 p.m. matchup.