Despite Faubert's Hat-trick No. 6 Men's Lacrosse Falls Against No. 4 RIT In A Battle Of Ranked Unbeatens

4/16/2011 12:00:00 AM

ROCHESTER, N.Y. (April 16, 2011) – Senior co-captain Brandon Faubert netted a hat-trick, but the Stevens Institute of Technology men's lacrosse team, ranked sixth nationally in the latest USILA Coahes Poll, dropped its first game of the season, falling to No. 4 Rochester Institute of Technology, 18-8, in a battle of two unbeatens at RIT Field in Rochester, N.Y. With the loss, the Ducks fell to 12-1 overall on the year and 4-1 in Empire 8 play, while the Tigers improved to 11-0 on the season with a 5-0 mark against conference opponents.

Hoping to get the Ducks off to a fast start, Faubert netted the game's first tally, making good on a Stevens clear attempt before ripping a shot from the middle of the field into the back of the Tigers' net at 7:55. Just 43 seconds later, fellow co-captain, junior Alex Hofrichter, turned a Tim Culloty assist into the Ducks' second score of the afternoon, making it 2-0 Stevens.

Looking to respond, junior attack Tyler Russell (Livonia, N.Y.) put the Tigers on the board at 5:04 before senior midfielder Chris Cherami (Olwick, N.Y.) knotted the game with a goal just 14 seconds later. Keeping things going, junior Ryan Speciale (Painted Post, N.Y.) quickly gave the surging Tigers their first lead of the afternoon with a tally just under the three-minute mark, before senior attack Kelso Davis (Freeport, Maine) capped off a 4-0 RIT run to close out the opening period with a score at 53 seconds.

Continuing to go on the offensive, Russell netted the first goal in the second period off of a Davis assist, making it 5-2, before Davis converted a man-up situation at 10:16 to stake the Tigers to a four-point cushion. Junior attack A.J. Tingle (Cary, N.C.), senior long-stick M.J. Kiekebelt (Caledon, Ontario), and Davis would then net three more goals over less than a three minute span to extend the margin to 9-2 with 6:44 to go in the first half.

Trying to help the Ducks regroup, senior co-captain Chris Laurita ended Stevens' nearly 13-minute scoring drought and RIT's streak of nine unanswered goals with a score at 4:31, but a Jordan Collins-Hartwig (Buffalo, N.Y.) marker with just under two minutes left in the frame once again pushed the margin to seven. Hoping to end the half on a good note, Faubert tallied his second goal of the game with just 28 seconds to go in the stanza, pulling Stevens within six at 10-4 heading into the intermission.

Coming out of the break and looking to stave off a Ducks' comeback, Davis again got on the home team on board, finding the back of the Stevens net for the fourth time at 10:05 of the third to make it 11-4. Faubert quickly responded with a goal of his own just 58 seconds later, to pull the Ducks back within six, but the Tigers would outscore the Stevens 7-3 down the stretch to secure an 18-8 win.

Russell had a pair of scores in RIT's decisive run, while Davis, Collins-Hartwig, Cherami, junior Tom Riley (West Nyack, N.Y.) and Jordan Macintosh (Oakville, Ontario) each netted a goal. Hofrichter, junior Kevin Rose and freshman Christian Saley each recorded a tally for the Ducks in the fourth quarter to close out scoring.

Faubert led the Ducks with three goals, while Hofrichter added a pair of scores. Laurita, Saley and Rose accounted for the other Ducks' markers. Junior Michael Steinhauser, sophomore Brian Seldeen and Rose each picked up a team-high six ground balls, with Steinhauser also going 10-for-18 from the 'X'. Junior goalkeeper Eric Yando made 13 saves in the loss – his first of the season.

Davis finished with seven points on five goals and two assists to lead RIT, while Russell netted four goals in the win. Cherami and Collins-Hartwig combined for four goals and three assists in the victory, while Kiekebelt tracked down a game-high 10 ground balls and five caused turnovers. Senior netminder Rob Tonnessen (Ridgefield, Conn.) made 17 stops in the win.

The Tigers, despite getting outshot 54-49, managed to hold the nation's top-ranked scoring offense (18.58) to under 10 goals for the first time this season, while helping to cause 23 Ducks' turnovers and limiting Stevens to a 18-for-26 clear rate –the squad's lowest percentage on the year.

The Ducks will look to break back into the win column on Saturday, April 23 when they take on league rival Nazareth College.
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