Courtesy Trinity Sports Information

Box Score

HARTFORD, Conn. – Senior attackman Rob Nogueras (Parkland, Fla.) notched four goals and one assist to lead second-seeded Trinity to a 14-8 victory over visiting Hamilton in the quarterfinals of the NESCAC Men's Lacrosse Championship on Saturday afternoon.

Trinity advances to its second straight NESCAC Semifinals while improving to 10-5 with its second win in a row and taking revenge on the Continentals which had beaten Trinity, 9-7, last weekend in New York. Hamilton ends the year at 9-6 and with its first loss in four games.

No. 2-seeded Trinity matches up with No. 3-seeded Bowdoin, which downed No. 6-seeded Wesleyan, 6-4, today, on May 5 at 3:00 p.m. at Tufts University, while top-seeded Tufts hosts No. 4-seeded Connecticut College in the other semifinal at 12:00 p.m. on Saturday. The finals, which Trinity has never reached, will be on Sunday, May 6 at noon at Tufts.

Trinity outscored the Continentals, 6-1, in the fourth quarter to turn an 8-7 lead into a 14-8 final, as freshman midfielder James O'Connell (Middleton, Mass.) started the run at the 12:39 mark with a man-up goal from sophomore attackman Chase Growney (Berwyn, Pa.), while junior middie Steve Manning (Tyngsboro, Mass.) scored twice, and rookie attackman Matt Hauck (Ridgewood, N.J.) scored once and assisted once during the spurt.

The game was tied, 5-5, at halftime, as senior attackman Jon Leanos (Long Valley, N.J.) registered a hat trick in the opening 30 minutes for Hamilton and Nogueras led the Trinity attack with two goals and one assist before intermission. Continental senior attackman Henry Burchenal (Summit, N.J.) gave the visitors a 6-5 lead 1:12 into the third quarter from classmate Luke Sadoff (Massapequa, N.Y.), but Trinity junior middie Nick Shaheen (Williamsburg, Mass.) responded 1:37 later and Nogueras converted on a feed by sophomore midfielder Terence Olsen (Avon, Conn.) just 18 seconds after that to give the lead back to the Bantams, 7-6.

Olsen assisted sophomore midfielder Chris Sweitzer (Wilmette, Ill.) for another Trinity goal with 6:41 left in the third frame, but Hamilton answered with an unassisted tally by junior midfielder McCullough Shriver (Marlborough, Conn.) with 1:59 left in the third.

Trinity held a 34-to-25 edge on shots, including a 10-to-4 advantage in the fourth quarter, did not commit a penalty, and won 16 of the 25 face offs. Hamilton committed 10 turnovers against 16 for the Bantams.

Hauck finished with four points on two goals and two assists, while Shaheen scored twice, and junior midfielder T.J. Cholnoky (Greenwich, Conn.) was 10-for-14 on face offs and scooped a game-high five ground balls.

Senior captains Alex Gottsch (Sparks, Md.) and Peter Johnson (Riverside, Conn.) paced the Trinity defense with three ground balls and three caused turnovers, and eight saves in goal, respectively.

Leanos assisted on two scores to go with his three goals, while Sadoff dished three assists, and Burchenal scored a pair of goals for Hamilton. Continental senior backstop Max Vaickus (Hingham, Mass.) had 10 saves.