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(4) Mount St. Mary's v. (1) St. Joseph's
10-4, St. Joseph's
Mount St. Mary's kept the game close through the first quarter and entered the second period tied at one. However, The Mount just didn't have the firepower to keep up with St. Joe's: The Hawks took off in the second 15 minutes, scoring four straight goals to take a 5-1 lead into halftime. The second half was more of the same, as the Hawks dropped five more goals on the Mountaineers before Mount St. Mary's was able to generate their second tally to stop the bleeding. While Mount St. Mary's scored the final three goals of the game, they were outclassed by a focused and determined St. Joseph's team.
The Hawks was led by super sophomore Mike Rastivo. Rastivo outscored Mount St. Mary's all by himself, dropping five goals on The Mount's defense. T.J. Jones had a dozen saves on the day for the Hawks, helping the team's effort to stifle the Mountaineers.
(3) Bryant v. (2) Hobart
Final Score: 11-8, Bryant
The Bulldogs demonstrated that, like their coach, they're made of sterner stuff. The Bulldogs entered halftime down 5-7 and came out firing on all cylinders in the second half, scoring six of the game's final seven goals. Bryant held Hobart scoreless for the final 27:00 minutes of the game. The victory for the Bulldogs avenges an earlier loss to the Statesmen and puts Bryant just one win away from an invitation to The Big Barbecue. That isn't bad for a squad that started the season 1-6.
The win marks the fourth straight trip to the Northeast Conference Tournament championship game for Bryant. The Bulldogs have now won six out of their last nine games. Bryant was led by Tucker James, the attackman dropping a hat trick on Hobart and added a couple assists to finish with five points. James now leads the squad with 31 tallies on the season.