FARMINGDALE, N.Y. - UMBC fought back from down five goals with 8:08 to play in the third quarter to pull within one in the final 15 seconds, but Hofstra held on for an 11-10 victory on Saturday at Rams Field.
Connor Chick recorded a hat trick for the Retrievers with a pair of goals coming from
Ryan Demato and
Jake Kucinski. Kucinski also added two assists for UMBC.
Down 10-5 in the third, Chick snuck one past Shea Kennedy with 6:37 to play, scoring off a feed from
Casey Pung to pull UMBC within four. Just over a minute later, Demato scored his first goal of the game to trim the gap to three goals.
Down 10-7 entering the fourth, Kucinski made it three straight goals for UMBC, leaping up and firing it past Kennedy. Anthony Mollica put home what would prove to be the deciding goal for Hofstra with 11:24 to play, beating
Connor McMahon with his sixth goal of the day.
Zach Coyle lasered one home with 10:19 left in regulation, pulling UMBC back within two goals. The game remained 11-9 for more than 10 minutes before Kucinski found Demato to pull UMBC within one with 12 seconds left.
UMBC won 19-25 face-offs with
Alex Steers winning 16-22 and
Paulo Vazquez winning all three of his attempts. Steers scooped up a game-high 10 ground balls for UMBC.
Casey Pung continued a strong senior season, causing a turnover and picking up five ground balls.
The Retrievers open league play on Saturday at Vermont.
