RICHMOND, Va. – Ben Dutton scored a career-high seven goals, including the clincher in the final minute, as Saint Joseph's defeated High Point 11-9 on Thursday to advance to the Atlantic 10 Championship game.
With the score tied 9-9 and under five minutes remaining,
Griffin Mallory put the Hawks in front with a coast-to-coast goal following a defensive stop. Dutton added his seventh goal with just over a minute to play, and
Charlie Giachetti made a late save to seal the win.
Trae Ika opened the scoring for Saint Joseph's before High Point answered early. Dutton then took over, scoring three goals in the final 4:22 of the first quarter to give the Hawks a 4-1 lead.
Dutton struck again early in the second quarter to extend the margin, and
Keaton Zavitz followed with a solo effort after a faceoff win to push the lead to four. High Point trimmed the deficit late in the half, sending Saint Joseph's into the break with a 6-3 advantage.
Ika scored moments into the second half, but the Panthers responded with two quick goals to cut the lead to 7-5. Dutton added two more to match his career high at the time, giving the Hawks a 9-5 cushion entering the fourth quarter.
High Point surged back with four goals in a four-minute span to tie the game at 9-9, setting up the late heroics from Mallory and Dutton.
Giachetti finished with nine saves for the Hawks, including a stop in the final 30 seconds to preserve the victory.
INSIDE THE BOX SCORE
- Ben Dutton matched an Atlantic 10 Championship record with seven goals, tying former Hawk Levi Anderson (2024). The total also set a new career high and finished one shy of the program single-game record.
- Griffin Mallory recorded the game-winning goal — his first of the season — and added two assists.
- Trae Ika scored the opening goal in each half, finishing with two goals and an assist.
- Carter Truesdell added two assists, including the feed on Dutton's late clincher.
- Keaton Zavitz scored once, while Will Barber added an assist to round out the scoring.
- Matthew Akers and Michael Waite each caused two turnovers to lead the defense.
- Charlie Giachetti earned his second consecutive win, making nine saves.
- Saint Joseph's held advantages in shots (44-37) and shots on goal (20-18), while High Point led in faceoffs, 14-9.
- The Hawks snapped a three-game losing streak against High Point, evening the all-time series at 5-5.
- Saint Joseph's advances to the A-10 title game for the first time since winning the championship in 2024.
UP NEXT
Saint Joseph's will face top-seeded Richmond in the Atlantic 10 Championship on Saturday. Opening faceoff is set for noon.
