GREENVILLE, Pa.  - The Hilbert College men's lacrosse team built a 8-3 lead by intermission and captured their season opener at Thiel College this afternoon inside the R-S Dome.

Five different Hawks posted at least one goal and one assist, but it was Liam Doyle and Daniel Flynn who fueled the charge collecting 6 points each.

THE BASICS              

• Final Score:  Hilbert 14 | Thiel 7
• Location:   R-S Dome, Greenville, Pa.
• Records: Hilbert 1-0 | Thiel 0-2

HIGHLIGHTS

• Daniel Flynn posted five goals and added an assist while Liam Doyle earned matching threes in goals and assists.
• Zach Blount and Brandon Bitka each tallied one goal but assisted on three others as Joey DiMaria netted three markers in his rookie campaign.
• Blount earned 7-of-13 face-offs and Jack Raymond led the Hawks with seven ground balls.
• Griffin Miller earned his first collegiate win in goal and was credited with 11 saves in the full 60-minute non-conference contest.

HOW IT HAPPENED

• Liam Doyle put the Hawks on the score board just 90 seconds into the game.  Thiel matched the score almost sixty seconds later before Flynn scored back-to-back man up goals before the nine-minute mark.  Thiel found room in the net making it s 3-2 game yet, that was as close as they would get the rest of the way.  Doyle tallied two more scores by the start of the 2nd quarter.
• DiMaria had a field day in the second session – that is when he scored all three of his hits which lifted the Hawks to an 8-3 half time lead.
• Things got chippy in the third quarter with the Tomcats outscoring Hilbert 4-3 in that 15-minute period.  Blount and Jared Wojtaszczyk opened the period with two quick goals before Thiel strung together their four-in-a-row.  Bitka closed the session with a score at 2:15.
• Flynn finished the game collecting all three Hilbert fourth quarter goals, adding another man up to his season total.

GAME NOTES

• Statistically, it was a close game on paper.  Thiel held leads in shots (43-38), face-offs (13-11), caused turnovers (7-6),  and ground balls (38-37), but the Hawks were successful in transition, going 18-23 in clears and limited their turnovers to just 24.
• Travis Kilanowski led the Hawks two caused turnovers.

UP NEXT

Hilbert hopes to host their home opener this Saturday, February 26 at St. Francis High School, their new home field for the spring season.  The Hawks have SUNY Delhi coming to town for a 2pm game.