HAMBURG, N.Y. - Hilbert College dropped a 11-4 decision to Centenary (N.J.) on Saturday afternoon, as a six-goal opening quarter proved to be the difference at Frontier High School.

Centenary wasted no time establishing control, scoring six times in the first period behind a balanced attack led by Nora Dornich and Trista Hough. The early deficit forced Hilbert into a catch-up position for the remainder of the contest.

Hilbert responded with resilience in the second and third quarters. McKenna Rice got the Hawks on the board midway through the second, finishing off a feed from Sam Accurso, before Madison Matuszak converted on a player-up opportunity to cut the margin to four at halftime.

The Hawks continued to battle in the third quarter, trading goals with Centenary. Olivia Horn capitalized on a pass from Matuszak, and Ellie Pembleton added a late goal to keep momentum on Hilbert's side heading into the final frame.

Despite the improved offensive rhythm, Centenary answered each push. Dornich completed a four-goal performance while Hough added three, including a pair of player-up tallies, to maintain control.

Hilbert showed balanced scoring with four different players finding the back of the net, while Matuszak contributed a goal and an assist. Matuszak and Lezly McComber carried the ball through clears with confidence, and Jacqueline Alaburda led the Hawks with four draw controls.

Defensively, the Hawks faced sustained pressure throughout, compounded by multiple penalties that led to several Centenary player-up goals. Olivia Cleary finished with six saves while holding the Cyclones to 4-of-8 in free position shots.

Hilbert (1-4) returns to action Wednesday, March 25th with a 1:30 pm first draw at the Nardin Community Athletic Complex in North Buffalo.  This game was recently added to the Hawks' game schedule.