HARTFORD, Conn. – The Clark University men's lacrosse team fell in a battle with Trinity on Wednesday night as seven goal-scorers for the Bantams boosted them to a 15-11 non-conference final at Jessee/Miller Field.

The Basics

Score: Bantams 15, Cougars 11

Records: Clark University (0-5) | Trinity (3-1)

How it Happened

Senior captain Chris Rasco (Huntington, N.Y.) continued his hot start as the attack notched his fourth hat-trick through the first five games, finishing with a game-high five goals on ten shots. Senior Owen Lamerson (Greenlawn, N.Y.) dished out a pair of assists while senior Bobby Philbin (Ridgefield, Conn.) scored one goal and won 8-of-14 faceoff opportunities.

Trinity was led by Drew Kozub and Thomas Mara with the duo each tallying four goals as part of seven different goal-scorers. Ben Ferrucci and Connor McCulloch chipped in two goals apiece for the Bantams.

The Bantams grabbed an early 1-0 lead as Mara slipped an unassisted goal past Ryan Mickelson (Mattawan, Mich.) at the 10:18 mark in the opening quarter. The Cougars responded minutes later with Jack Mandracchia (Melrose, Mass.) cashing in on an unassisted chance before Benjamin Hollerbach (West Hartford, Conn.) provided a 2-1 lead with 3:27 left in the frame.

Trinity's offense erupted for three goals in 37 seconds, capped off by McCulloch who scored with 45 seconds to go to give the host a 4-2 lead. Clark trimmed the gap before the end of the frame as Rasco deposited his first of the game, rifling a shot over the shoulder of the netminder for a man-up score with five seconds left.

Rasco continued his output in the second quarter as the senior leveled the score just two minutes later, tallying one up in unassisted fashion at the 12:48 mark. Just under six minutes after that, Rasco completed the hat-trick, converting a feed from Lamerson to give the Cougs a 5-4 lead.

Both teams traded goals through the remainder of the half with sophomore Steve Caione (Wingdale, N.Y.) and Rasco exchanging goals with Trinity's Harrison Ike and Brendan Walsh. The Cougars would hold a 7-6 lead headed into the locker room break.

The back-and-forth continued in the second half as goals from Brendan Walsh and McCulloch gave the Bantams a brief 8-7 lead before Rasco came through again for the Cougars, finding the back of the net for his fifth goal with 9:04 in the quarter.

Trinity used another two-goal spurt to gain separation, this time both goals being potted by Kozub. But Clark stormed right back with Philbin and Jacob Brandes (Chappaqua, N.Y.) scoring two minutes apart to tie it up, 10-10.

After a scoreless six minutes to begin the fourth, the Bantams were sparked by Mara who registered three of the team's next four unanswered goals, giving the host a 14-10 lead with 4:53 to go in regulation. The Cougars responded with a ridiculous behind the back goal from sophomore Thomas McCarthy (York, Maine), but a goal from Ferrucci put the game out of reach for the 15-11 final.

Mickelson was solid in net for the Cougars with the sophomore stonewalling 16 shots for the third time this season in a complete-game effort. For the Bantams, Patrick Grimes turned aside six shots to improve to 3-1 on the season. Clark won 15-of-29 faceoffs while being edged on groundballs by a 16-10 margin.

Up Next

The Cougars return to action on Saturday, March 18 when they host Roger Williams in a 10:00 A.M. contest at Granger Field.