DANBURY, Conn. – The Connecticut College men's lacrosse team used a late flurry to pull out a 14-11 victory over Western Connecticut State University on Tuesday night in non-conference action at the Westside Athletic Complex.
The Camels trailed by a goal early in the fourth quarter but outscored the Wolves 4-0 in the final 7:55 to secure their first win of the season. Conn improved to 5-0 all-time against WestConn, which dropped to 3-2 overall on the season.
Liam Horkan (Malden, Mass.) scored four goals while
Isaiah Kozub (Wilbraham, Mass.) added a hat trick and one assist to pace the Camels. Goalie
Patrick Hogan (Wyckoff, N.J.) made nine saves in the cage to record the first win of his collegiate career.
Horkan supplied the first goal of the game to open the scoring, but the Wolves fired back twice in the final 3:14 of the quarter to lead 2-1 after one.
Michael Moran (Columbia, S.C.) tallied early in the second quarter to even the score, and Kozub followed with his first of the game to put Conn back on top.
WestConn pulled in front with 2:31 to go in the half, but Horkan scored twice in the final 74 seconds to give the Camels a 6-5 advantage at the break. Conn kept the momentum going early in the second half, ripping off three unanswered goals to pad the margin to 9-5.
Nick McLaughlin (Wilbraham, Mass.),
Andrew Rainville (Watertown, Conn.) and
Declan Kuhn (Fairfield, Conn.) each recorded a goal during the stretch.
The Wolves closed the gap by scoring four of the final five goals in the third quarter. WestConn then scored twice in the opening 3:28 of the fourth to grab an 11-10 lead.
Conn's closing 4-0 spurt was jump started by a goal from
JJ Ford (Clinton, Conn.). Less than a minute later, Kozub completed his hat trick and put the Camels on top for good. Horkan netted his fourth goal to provide a cushion with 5:20 to go, and McLaughlin added a man-down insurance marker with 3:31 left to seal the win.
Aidan Gaudet (Cheshire, Conn.) went 10-for-14 on faceoffs and picked up a team-high four ground balls.
Conn (1-1 overall, 0-1 NESCAC) will next play at Colby College on Saturday, March 8 at noon.
