Hofrichter, Faubert Lead No. 15 Men's Lacrosse To 17-10 Win

3/9/2011 12:00:00 AM

HOBOKEN, N.J. (March 9, 2011) – Co-captains Alex Hofrichter and Brandon Faubert each netted four goals as the Stevens Institute of Technology men's lacrosse team, ranked 15th on the latest United States Intercollegiate Lacrosse Association coaches poll, notched its fourth-consecutive victory to open the 2011 campaign, defeating visiting Muhlenberg College 17-10 at the De Baun Athletic Complex in Hoboken, N.J.

Jumping out to an early edge, Muhlenberg attackman Jack Reilly (Boonton Twp., N.J.) put the visitors on the board with an unassisted goal at 13:46, but the Ducks' Chris Laurita answered with a score of his own less than three minutes later, putting a Faubert pass into the back of the net for his 10th tally of the season.

Looking to build on the momentum, Laurita would then find a streaking Hofrichter, who notched the game's third marker at 6:29, before Faubert buried his first goal of the afternoon at the 2:40 mark. Continuing to go on the offensive, freshman Christian Saley (Montville, N.J.) turned a Laurita pass into a score with just under a minute left in the first, capping off a 4-0 Ducks' run to close out the period.

Trying to stem the Stevens tide, Mules senior Brent Siebold (Mountain Lakes, N.J.) scored less than two minutes into the second – momentarily breaking the Ducks' streak of four consecutive goals – but Stevens' Kevin Rose quickly answered with an unassisted tally to stake the home team to a 5-2 edge.

After a Clint Watkins (Basking Ridge, N.J.) marker trimmed the margin to two at 10:09, Stevens junior Rich Dupras and Faubert netted back-to-back goals, pushing the lead back up to 7-3. Hoping to keep Muhlenberg within striking distance, Watkins again took an Alex Ardolino (Florham Park, N.J.) assist and recorded his second goal of the day, making it 7-4 at the 3:40 mark, before Ardolino added a late goal, with 38 seconds left in the half to bring the Mules within two heading into the intermission.

Looking to regroup coming out of the break, Saley took advantage of an early man-up situation less than five minutes into the third, scoring his second goal of the game – this time off of a Rose assist. After nearly six scoreless minutes, Faubert converted another Ducks' man-up advantage, finding the back of the net for a third time to make it 9-5. With time winding down in the frame, Hofrichter capped off a 3-0 period with an even strength goal at 1:11 off of another Laurita helper.

Down five to start the final quarter, Ardolino combined with Reilly to notch the Mules' sixth score of the afternoon, but Stevens' sophomore midfielder Nicholas Philippi quickly got on the board, netting his first goal of the day less than a minute later to once again make it a five-goal affair at 11-6. Trying to keep pace, Muhlenberg's Mike Carpetto (Westfield, N.J.) scored at the 13:10 mark – tallying the game's third goal in the 14th minute of the fourth.

With the offensive game picking up, Faubert and Philippi recorded consecutive scores just over a minute apart to extend the Stevens cushion to six. Muhlenberg's Doug Rheiner (Wycombe, Pa.) and Siebold responded with back-to-back goals of their own to once again pull the Mules within four at 13-9 with 9:32 on the clock, but the Ducks' answered with a 4-1 run down the stretch to win the game going away.

Hofrichter kick-started the Ducks' decisive rally with a goal at the 7:59 mark off of a Dupras assist, before Philippi buried an unassisted tally to up the margin to 15-9. After another Siebold goal cut the lead to four, Hofrichter and Rose capped off scoring with a pair of scores over the last three and a half minutes of action to seal Stevens' fourth-consecutive victory.

Faubert and Hofrichter led all scorers with five points on four goals and an assist each, while Philippi turned in a hat-trick for Stevens. Saley and Rose each netted a pair of scores in the win, while Dupras and Laurita each got on the board with a tally apiece. Stevens junior Michael Steinhauser collected a game-high 10 ground balls, while fellow junior Matt Marks caused a pair of turnovers. Ducks' junior Eric Yando continued his strong play in net making 11 saves en route to his fourth win of the season.

Siebold paced the Mules attack with three goals, while Ardolino and Watkins each added a couple of scores in the loss. Reilly and Rheiner chipped in with a goal and an assist apiece. Junior midfielder Nick Rispoli (Ridgewood, N.J.) had seven ground balls, while Carpetto and Rheiner combined for seven. Muhlenberg goalkeepers Mike Horowitz (Randolph, N.J.) and Oliver Baron (Weston, Conn.) had seven saves in the loss.

Stevens, which held a decisive 54-33 shot advantage, while going a perfect 16-for-16 on clears, returns to action on Saturday, March 12 when it plays host to Roger Williams University.
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