Lacrosse Earns Crucial Win, Tops Saint Joseph's 14-12

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Lacrosse Earns Crucial Win, Tops Saint Joseph's 14-12

LEXINGTON, Va.-The VMI Keydet Lacrosse team earned a crucial MAAC win Saturday, defeating the Saint Joseph's Hawks 14-12 in a physical, back-and-forth contest. Coming into the day, the two teams were tied for third in the Metro-Atlantic Athletic Conference.

The Keydets were sparked by two eight-point performances, one by senior Kevin Hill, and the other by sophomore Brett Leonard.

VMI came out firing early, as the Keydets threw nine shots at Saint Joseph's goalkeeper Erik Hotaling in the opening frame. Senior Matt Harrison opened the scoring, when he took a pass from Hill and beat the Hawks keeper, giving VMI a 1-0 lead less than three minutes into the game.

Leonard got on the board two minutes after Harrison, as he tallied the game's second marker off a pass from Hill. VMI scoring leader Tim Moran notched his 18th goal of the 2008 season, scoring at the 8:19 mark off a pass from Leonard, and the Keydets led 3-0 after fifteen minutes. VMI dominated the opening quarter, as the Keydets successfully cleared 7-of-8 times, and grabbed thirteen ground balls to Saint Joseph's eight.

Hill opened the second period scoring when he beat Hotaling at the 13:28 mark, boosting VMI's lead to four. Leonard assisted on the play.

Saint Joseph's quickly responded, as the Hawks scored the next three goals, and four of the next five. Leonard notched an unassisted goal at 4:31 to break the three-goal run, and put VMI up 5-3, but the Hawks' Scott Cullinan scored some four minutes later to account for the halftime score, 5-4 VMI.

The third period opened quickly, as Hill put VMI back on the board just twenty seconds in. Hill's marker was unassisted, and gave VMI a 6-4 advantage. The Hawks responded, as Cullinan and Steve Varga were able to beat Sean McCoy, and tie the score for the first time.

The tie only lasted six seconds, as the Keydets' Hill beat Hotaling to give VMI the lead once again. The senior's third goal of the contest made it 7-6, Keydets.

Hill notched his fourth goal with 8:32 remaining in the period, as Leonard found the senior with a pass. With the Keydets nursing a two-goal lead, Harrison added to the advantage with his second goal of the contest, putting the Keydets up three.

Cullinan responded at the 2:22 mark, scoring off a pass from Alex Lopes to make it 9-7 VMI. Less than a minute later, sophomore Sean Evans scored, and the back-and-forth contest was once more a one-goal game.

That one-goal status only lasted for twenty-one seconds, as VMI's Moran quickly scored to push the score to 10-8, and the Keydets took that edge into the final quarter of play. In the third period, Saint Joseph's outshot the Keydets 10-8, but VMI was able to successfully clear six-of-seven times.
The Keydets regained their three-goal cushion with 12:18 to play, as Leonard notched his third goal of the contest to make the score 11-8. The Hawks, as was customary all day, responded in due course. Saint Joseph's cut the lead back to one, as Cullinan and Varga both notched goals with five minutes to play.

The back-and-forth contest continued, as VMI's Harrison pushed the score to 12-10 with his third goal of the game. The hat trick is Harrison's third this season, with the others coming against Virginia and Wagner.

Chris O'Neill answered for Saint Joseph's, as he scored with 7:13 to play, and once again, the VMI lead was a lone goal.

Leonard and Hill responded, as Leonard scored with 5:03 remaining, and Hill provided insurance with an unassisted goal at the 3:54 mark. Saint Joseph's cut the deficit to 14-12 with a goal at 2:16, but could get no closer, as the Keydets held on for the victory.

During the contest, VMI grabbed 46 ground balls, ten more than the Hawks. In addition, the Keydets held their MAAC foes to just 13 successful clears out of 25 attempts.

VMI was led by Hill and Leonard, as sophomore Leonard had four goals and four assists, while senior Hill posted a career-high tying five goals and assisted on three others. The eight points places the teammates in a tie, as the total is the third-highest in VMI Lacrosse history. The Keydets were also helped by Harrison's hat trick, as well as Moran's two goals.

Saint Joseph's was led by Cullinan's five goals in the losing cause.

With the win, the Keydets move to 4-6 and 3-1 in the MAAC, while the Hawks fall to 2-8 and 1-3 in conference play.

VMI returns to action Saturday, April 12, as the Keydets travel to Loudonville, N.Y., to take on the Siena Saints. The contest will be held at Siena's home field, the site of this year's MAAC Championship Tournament, and is currently scheduled for 1 p.m.
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Players Mentioned

Matt Harrison

#18 Matt Harrison

M
6' 0"
Senior
Kevin Hill

#5 Kevin Hill

A
6' 0"
Senior
Brett Leonard

#10 Brett Leonard

A/M
5' 11"
Sophomore
Sean McCoy

#3 Sean McCoy

G
6' 2"
Sophomore
Tim Moran

#11 Tim Moran

M
5' 9"
Sophomore

Players Mentioned

Matt Harrison

#18 Matt Harrison

6' 0"
Senior
M
Kevin Hill

#5 Kevin Hill

6' 0"
Senior
A
Brett Leonard

#10 Brett Leonard

5' 11"
Sophomore
A/M
Sean McCoy

#3 Sean McCoy

6' 2"
Sophomore
G
Tim Moran

#11 Tim Moran

5' 9"
Sophomore
M