Hawks Roll Past Oglethorpe

MONTGOMERY, Ala.- Capturing their momentum generated in their win over Spalding this past weekend, Huntingdon Men's Lacrosse hit their stride early and never looked back, rolling past the Stormy Petrels of Oglethorpe University, 20-6. 

After conceding the first two goals of the contest, the Hawks settled in and never looked back. Oglethorpe struck at the 14:04 and 11:44 marks of the opening quarter to grab a quick 2-0 lead, but Tristan Dial ignited the Huntingdon response with an unassisted goal at 10:17. Jaxon McMonigle followed with back-to-back scores less than a minute apart to tie the game and give the Hawks their first lead of the afternoon. The Stormy Petrels briefly evened the score at 3-3, but Huntingdon closed the first quarter on a 2-0 spurt behind goals from Hunter Rives and Dial to take a 5-3 advantage into the second.

From there, it was all Hawks.

After Oglethorpe trimmed the margin to 5-4 early in the second, Huntingdon erupted for six unanswered goals to close the half. McMonigle netted two during the run, Rives added a man-up strike, Devin Reeves scored twice, and Dial capped the surge with a goal off an assist from McMonigle to send the Hawks into the break with an 11-4 lead.

Huntingdon continued to pour it on in the third quarter, outscoring Oglethorpe 6-1 in the frame. Kelcey Marston opened the half with a goal off a Dial assist, and McMonigle and Dial each found the back of the net twice in the period. The Hawks capitalized on their extra-man opportunities as well, converting three man-up goals on the day, including two in the third quarter to push the lead to 17-5 heading into the final stanza.

McMonigle delivered a career afternoon, finishing with seven goals and an assist on 14 shots. Dial added five goals and one assist, while Rives recorded a hat trick. Reeves chipped in two goals, and Marston totaled a goal and an assist as Huntingdon placed eight different players in the scoring column.

As a team, the Hawks outshot Oglethorpe 56-23 and held a 38-36 edge in ground balls. Huntingdon also controlled the faceoff , winning 17 of 29 draws, led by Mason Honeycutt's 14-of-24 effort.

Defensively, four different goalkeepers saw action for the Hawks. Nathan Brezovec earned the win, making four saves in 28 minutes of work, while Ethan Schellenberger added four stops. The Huntingdon defense forced 28 Oglethorpe turnovers and limited the Stormy Petrels to 0-for-3 on man-up chances.

Josh Knost and Landen Nary each added fourth-quarter goals to account for the final 20-6 margin, as Huntingdon closed out the convincing home victory.

With the win, the Hawks continue to build momentum in their nonconference stretch. They return to action in Shreveport, Louisiana this Saturday, February 21st, against Centenary. Gametime is set for 1:00 PM CT.