HAMBURG, N.Y.  – The Hilbert College men's lacrosse team will advance into the United East Conference post-season tournament next week after earning a 26-5 victory on Senior Day at Saint Francis High School this afternoon.
 
The Hawks played unselfish, team lacrosse as they finished the game with 24 assists on 26 goals scored.  

FINAL SCORE:  Hilbert 26 – Wells 5
 
TEAM RECORDS:  Hilbert 4-6, 3-3 UEC  | Wells 3-9, 2-4 UEC
 
HIGHLIGHTS

• Joey DiMaria led with Hilbert with 10 points, fueled by eight assists and two goals but it was Liam Doyle who netted six goals in his final home game as a Hawk.
• Brandon Moore earned his second win in goal, having covered 43:38 between the pipes.  He then picked up a field stick and scored his first hit on his career with 7:14 left in the game.
• Besides Doyle and Moore, other seniors who shined today were defender Michael Anzalone who was credited with four caused turnovers, four ground balls and netted his first career goal; Daniel Flynn finished with two goals and five assists, five ground balls and two caused turnovers while Travis Kilanowski went 1-1 in face-off x, scooped four ground balls and caused two turnovers.  Unfortunately, Brandon Bitka was on the sideline but very much engaged as a terrific teammate.

HOW IT HAPPENED

• Hilbert opened the game with two quick goals before three minutes clicked off the scoreboard.  The Hawks added five more markers before the second session began, led by Doyle's four first quarter scores.
• The White and Royal manufactured nine additional unanswered goals in the second period which gave them a 16-0 lead by the break.  Seven different Hawks beat the Express goalie led by Flynn's two goals and three assists.
• Wells opened the second half with their first goal at 13:07 and hit again with 1:29 left in the quarter.  Hilbert continued to pace the game but slowed their attack after intermission, scoring five goals in the third quarter.  Vincent Cascio tallied his first goal of the season at 6:58  and with just 0:14 left in the quarter, Anzalone reached from the weak side of the net, beating the goalie for the first time in his career.
• Hilbert outscored the Express 5-3 in the final session with Moore and Ryan Fitch (4:31) hitting for the first time this season.

 GAME NOTES

• Hilbert built dominating advantages both offensively and defensively over the Express.  They held large margins in shots, shots on goal, ground balls, and face-offs.  The Hawks didn't just attack on offense, they played defense the full field, forcing Wells into turnovers transitioning (12-25 in clears) and collecting 18 caused turnovers as a team.
• 14 different players tacked a goal onto their career numbers and 11 players were credited with at least one caused turnover.
• Zach Blount won 12 of 15 face offs, earned seven ground balls, and five points while Jack Raymond led with eight ground balls, one caused turnover and four points.  Joseph Gorman was the only defender to scoop seven ground balls.

UP NEXT

With the win, the Hawks advance to the United East Conference next week Wednesday, May 4^th.  No. 4 Hilbert will battle at No. 1 Morrisville who went 6-0 in league play during the regular season.