STONY BROOK, N.Y. -- Junior Ryan Compitello broke a 10-10 tie on a drive from behind the goal with onc second remaining to give University of Hartford an 11-10 win over 13th-ranked Stony Brook University and its first-ever America East Men's Lacrosse Championship title on Saturday afternoon at Stony Brook's LaValle Stadium.
The win guarantees the Hawks a spot in the NCAA Men's Lacrosse Championship, whose field will be announced Sunday evening at 9 p.m. on ESPNU. Tim Fallon dominated the faceoff circle, 16-8, and won 26-of-43 draws in the tournament to go with 26 ground balls en route to earning Most Outstanding Player honors.
Hartford (11-6), the tournament's No. 2 seed, struck the first blow on junior Carter Bender's unassisted goal nearly seven minutes into the game but top-seeded Stony Brook (10-4), which had won 13 straight games against conference foes until today, closed the quarter with three straight goals. America East Player of the Year Jordan McBride scored the first two of his four goals and Brett Drost capped the run on a goal with 1:06 left in the period.
The Hawks, who have won three straight games, turned the tied in the second quarter and scored three of four goals in the frame. Bender, one of Hartford's four All-Championship selections, started the run on his second goal of the game 1:05 into the quarter. After Stony Brook's Kevin Crowley found the back of the cage, Jared Franze cut the deficit to one with six minutes left and Compitello evened the score with just three seconds left in the half.
McBride, who tied the America East Championship record with 10 total goals in the tournament, scored twice in the first five minutes of the third quarter to give Stony Brook a 6-5 lead. The Hawks countered with three straight scores to take an 8-6 lead, including a pair by Martin Bowes, who totaled three for the game.
The two teams traded goals at the start of the fourth quarter before the Seawolves, the 2010 champion, took the momentum with three straight goals and took a 10-9 lead with just over seven minutes to go. But, Hartford, which has won more games (11) than its previous four seasons combined (9), tied the game on Bender's third goal with 3:19 left. After Hartford drew a penalty in the waning seconds Compitello drove from behind the cage on the right side and snuck the ball inside the post with just one second left to give Hartford the league title.
Scott Bement made nine saves in the Hartford cage and earned All-tournament honors along with senior defender Conor Flynn. Senior Rob Camposa, who made eight stops for Stony Brook earned All-Championship accolades along with teammate Kyle Moeller. Binghamton's Jeff Donigan and Tyler Perrelle and UMBC's Rob Grimm and David Stock rounded out the team.