We
came out strong, going up 6-0 in the 1st Quarter. The scoring was balanced and came in a
variety of ways with riding, fast breaks and solid 6
v. 6 play as well. On the defensive end
we were limiting quality shots and saving any attempts.
It is
difficult to pinpoint the turnaround in fortunes, but there is no way around
attributing at least some substantial part to a loss in focus. We gave up a couple of goals to start the 2nd
Quarter but rebounded with 2 of our own as Mike Saraceni
took over for a couple of possessions, operating behind the net and setting up
a couple of opportunities. When Trinity
scored a couple of more goals in the 2nd it seemed to knock us out of our rythm and get their heads back in the game.
The
3rd Quarter saw us throwing the ball away and making other unforced errors that
limited any scoring opportunities. They
were excited and gaining momentum as they were able to possess the ball and get
some quality scoring opportunities. They
possessed the ball well and we did not get many saves in the half, so there
were no fast break opportunities.
Combined with our unforced errors, it was a recipe for potential
disaster in the second half. Trinity did
in fact take the lead 9-8 in the second half before we woke up and started to
mount some pressure on them. By the time
we did this, they were too much into the game and it was never going to get
easy for us. We got a late goal from Andrew Giordano, who has been our most
consistent midfielder with 10 goals and 10 assists. He has been able to get us big goals and
assists recently when we have needed them.
With around 5 minutes remaining Charley Howe cashed in on a goal with an
assist from Mike Saraceni. Howe had been denied on several point blank
chances, so much like his winning goal in the Tufts game, it was a welcome
goal!
Freshman
Peter Mellen won the game ball as he dominated in
face offs. We do not have the luxury of
one dominant face off man, so we have been going with the hot hand between Gio, Jamie Duke and Peter Mellen
with long stick Brian Phinney taking a couple if we
are struggling.
We will need to get some focus as well as some confidence
heading into this last week. We play
Williams at home on Wednesday and Bates away on Saturday. Both teams have struggled to get many wins,
but both are very capable of beating us.