Hilbert Pulls Away In Fourth Quarter vs. Men's Lacrosse

BUFFALO, N.Y. – Trailing by an 8-6 margin entering the fourth quarter of play, Wells College allowed eight-straight goals to lose Wednesday's North Eastern Athletic Conference men's lacrosse contest by a 16-6 score. Wells falls to 1-3 overall and to 0-2 within NEAC play while Hilbert evens their overall record at 3-3 and boosting their league record to 2-0.

Wells was led by two goals and two assists from sophomore Alex Milliken (Hilton, N.Y.). Freshman Ian Domon (Buffalo, N.Y.) chipped in with his first collegiate goals, scoring twice, while classmate Aaron Heisey (Mechanicsburg, Pa.) scored once. Junior Connor Jansen (Horseheads, N.Y.) also scored a goal while sophomore Nicholas Lewis-Antwi (Bronx, N.Y.) registered an assist to round out the point scoring.

Despite significant advantages in shots (58-to-22), ground balls (47-to-31) and faceoff victories (20-for-26), the Hawks allowed Wells to battle back and cut the hosts lead to 7-6 following a man-up goal by Milliken. A crucial penalty called on the Express, however, allowed Hilbert to reestablish a two goal lead, 8-6, entering the fourth quarter.

Hilbert turned up the offensive heat in the final 15 minutes, rattling off seven-straight goals down the stretch to end any chance of a Wells comeback. Elliott Russillio scored six goals for Hilbert, leading players from both teams, while Andrew Ulbrich led all Hawks with seven points of offense via three goals and four assists.

On clearing attempts, Wells was perfect (19-for-19) for the first time since a 17-for-17 performance against Cazenovia on Apr. 14, 2012.

Earning his first collegiate start in goal, Wells backstop Elijah Tracey (Utica, N.Y.) made 12 saves for the Express on 28 total shots on goal. Hilbert's Brenden Deady halted six shots while allowing as many goals before yielding to Adam Zawadzki who made one save in the final 7:05.

Wells returns to action Saturday, Apr. 4 as they travel to SUNY Cobleskill for a 1 p.m. contest this weekend. The Fighting Tigers posted a hard-fought 11-10 victory against the Express last year, snapping a two-game winning streak for Wells.