HAWKEYES WIN FIRST BATTLE OF ROCHESTER

(Rochester, NY)… The Armory and the Hawkeyes faced off at The Blue Cross Arena for their first of three regular-season matchups in the Upstate Collegiate Box Lacrosse League (UCBLL). The two-time defending Mearns Cup champion Hawkeyes held off the high-powered Armory offense for a 12-7 win on Monday night. 

The two Rochester teams are all too familiar with each other, most of the athletes on both teams have played one another since the youth level and it showed with 11 penalties between the squads.

“You could feel the emotion or energy from both sides. I think a lot of guys kind of know each other from being in the area,” Hawkeyes head coach Dan Coates said. “It made for an entertaining game for us, and I’m sure for them, but this is only our second game of the year; we did some good things, and (there are) things we can improve upon. We know that we have some great competition in our backyard, and it should be an exciting series with them all year long.”

UCBLL rookie Thomas Gravino led the Hawkeyes in scoring. The Maryland Terrapin had a breakout game with five goals and three assists. Gravino is a midfielder outdoors who initiates the offense, much like his coach, Thomas McConvey. Now in the box, the Knighthawks’ No. 1 overall pick can help the Victor native find his game.

“He’s super gifted. This is kind of my first time ever watching him play, and his quickness really grabs you from the beginning,” McConvey said. “I think he’s still kind of grasping the whole box game; he obviously had a bunch of goals today. He has that finishing ability, that quickness and he’s got all the intangibles to be a good box lacrosse player.”

The Limestone pairing of Nate Senez (2+2) and Zachary Terry (3+0) was next on the Hawkeyes' sheet. Canisius Golden Griffin Ben McGrath was the beneficiary of a smooth transition game; he tallied a goal in the first and third quarters. Quinn Nolan kept the ball with the Hawkeyes all night, winning 19 of 23 faceoffs. John Jacobs backstopped the group with 23 saves, and in two games, Jacobs has averaged six goals against.

The Armory was led by RIT’s Clifford Gaston, just like its season opener. Unlike their first game, the Hawkeyes held Gaston (2+1) to only three points compared to his nine against the Rapids on Thursday. Le Moyne’s Alec Constable was second on the sheet again, this time with two goals. Tehonatake Nicholas posted 38 saves in the loss for a 76% save percentage. 

Nolan’s dominance was felt from the first whistle. The faceoff specialist allowed the Hawkeyes to possess the ball for the opening three minutes of the game, during which time they scored twice. Their second goal came directly off the faceoff, as Nolan popped the ball to McGrath, who took it all the way to the goal. Gaston had an answer, finishing from the right side, but that was all the Hawkeyes’ defense would allow in the opening 15 minutes. 

The Hawkeyes offense struggled to find a rhythm in the opening quarter but eventually found a way into the net with Terry pulling a longshot goal out of nowhere. The next came from the righty side as Titus Chapman found Senez streaking through to the crease from down low. 

Nolan spurred the Hawkeyes to open the second quarter as well. They possessed for the opening minutes again and scored twice, with Gravino assisting one and scoring the other. He didn’t stop there, though; he notched a hat trick in the second quarter alone and became the centerpiece of the Hawkeyes’ offense. 

“I’d say it probably comes from the schemes that we put in,” Gravino said. “Our coach is really heavy on coming in fast and starting offense fast, and that kind of plays into my skillset. I’m fast and athletic and can move around my guys fairly easily.”

After Gravino’s second, the Armory faceoff specialists found a spark. Declan Landers won the draw and caught the Hawkeyes on the backfoot. Gaston held up the possession and found Trent Jackson streaking to the crease for the Armory’s second tally. The Hawkeyes notched one more goal but after that the Armory found a rhythm with two goals to bring the game back to a four-goal deficit, 8-4. 

The third started out just like the first two quarters: a Nolan faceoff win that gave the Hawkeyes extended possession, and they scored twice from it. Gravino did his best Connor Fields impression to start the second half. He drove in from the high wing and jumped towards the far post while releasing his shot, but Nicholas never had a chance to see the ball. 

On the other end, the Armory found an even more impressive goal from Constable. In desperation, behind the Hawkeyes’ net, he dove towards the crossbar and buried a dunk with two defenders on him. 

The Hawkeyes’ offensive stalls from the first half came back to haunt them in the second. They scored two more goals in the third to make it 12-5 but couldn’t find the back of the net at all in the fourth. As for the Armory, its comeback was halted by the penalty box. Despite having momentum on their side and scoring two shorthanded goals, time ran out on the comeback for the red, white and blue.

“Our defense is definitely phenomenal, they do a great job, on the offensive end, it’s kind of normal for guys to start slow because they’ve been playing field all year,” Gravino said. “I just think we’re gonna get better and better. All our guys are gonna mesh together. I’m just now learning all the guy’s names on the team.”

The Hawkeyes will have a chance to mesh as they get the same matchup for their next game. The Hawkeyes (2-0) and Armory (1-1) will face off again at The Blue Cross Arena on Thursday night with the first faceoff at 6:00 p.m.