UTICA, N.Y. (March 27, 2010) – The Stevens Institute of Technology men's lacrosse team opened up its Empire 8 slate with a convincing 11-3 win over Utica College on Saturday afternoon at Charles A. Gaetano Field in Utica, N.Y. Sophomore attackman Alex Hofrichter and junior midfielder Brandon Faubert each scored three times and handed out two assists in the win as the Ducks scored the game's first eight goals and never looked back.
Stevens (5-3 overall, 1-0 Empire 8) started strong and did not relent in the win. Just 19 seconds into the game, senior captain Bobby Steinhauser found Hofrichter for a tally, and 3:41 later Hofrichter scored again, this time on an assist from Faubert. Sophomore Kevin Rose put away a feed from freshman Nicolas Philippi to put the Ducks on top, 3-0, and 43 ticks later, junior Joey Simone tallied his second goal of the season.
Neither team scored for the next eight minutes, but Faubert notched his first of the game with five seconds remaining in the first quarter to give Stevens a 5-0 lead. The junior midfielder scored 2:15 into the second and Steinhauser netted his first of the year with 10:36 to play before the half. Hofrichter rang the bell for the third and final time with 9:41 left in the second to give the Ducks an 8-0 advantage, and Utica finally got on the board thanks to a goal from senior attackman Michael Brodhead (Syracuse, N.Y.) 22:00 minutes into the contest.
Faubert scored the only goal of the third quarter to put the Ducks up 10-1, and Simone netted for the second time in the game with 11:54 remaining before the Pioneers (1-5) tallied 18 seconds apart (7:34, 7:16) for the final margin.
Stevens more than doubled Utica's shot total, taking 44 rips to the Pioneers' 20. The Ducks ended with a 25-19 edge in ground balls and also limited their turnovers, committing just 13. Stevens won 10-of-17 face-offs and converted 95 percent (19-of-20) of its clear attempts.
Steinhauser was a key for Stevens, scoring one goal, dishing out one assist, picking up a game-high six ground balls, and winning eight of the 12 face-offs he took. Junior captain Zach McHugh caused a game-high four turnovers, while fellow junior Ted Pfeifer caused three. Sophomores Will Thiede and Jacob Messimer each picked up three ground balls and caused a turnover.
Stevens junior Dave Decker made seven saves in goal. He earned the win and is now 5-3. Senior Travis Wright (Watertown, N.Y.) took the loss for Utica despite a solid 23-save performance.
Stevens will return to action on April 3 when it hosts Alfred University at the De Baun Athletic Complex. Face-off is slated for 3 p.m. and the game will be webcast live at www.PennAtlantic.com/main.php. Utica takes on SUNY Oswego on March 31.
