EDEN, N.Y. - The Hilbert College men's lacrosse team earned a 27-8 North Eastern Athletic Conference (NEAC) victory over Wells College this afternoon at Eden High School.

Drew Werner and James Duffy led with nine points each as the Hawks (1-0) benefited from a balanced offensive contribution with 11 different players posted at least one point in the win.

Ryan Spath (8 of 9), Joshua Maloney (11 of 17) and Devin White-Kearns (10 of 12) dominated the face off X winning 29 of 38 chances.   Maloney led all players with 11 ground balls.

Wells (0-1) actually out shot the Hawks (49-45) but Elijah Ryan and Spencer Kennedy combined for 19 saves.  Ryan, who improved to 3-3 on the year, was credited with 7 saves in the first 30-minutes of action and Kennedy closed with 12 saves, 10 in the third quarter alone.

Hilbert jumped out to a 2-0 lead before the Express beat Ryan for their first goal with four minutes left in the 1st quarter.  The Hawks then picked up their pace and converted face-off wins into fast break scores as they stretched their 1st quarter, 9-1 advantage to a 15-2 by half time.

Edward Mathias was credited with eight points by the break, scoring six first half goals many off James Duffy's feed.  Duffy himself tallied a pair of goals and three of his four 1st half assists were to Mathias.

Wells found their offensive rhythm in third quarter keeping pace offensively (3-3 ) with the Hawks on the scoreboard.

Daniel Flynn (4g) scored Hilbert's game opening goal and closed with back-to-back scores before the final horn as the Hawks out lasted the Express 9-3 in the final session.

Ryan Spath picked up his first hat trick of the season in the final thirty minutes and Drew Werner continued his strong play into the second half chipping in two goals off his only two shots while helping on three other hits.

Hilbert (3-3 overall) takes their show on the road this weekend when they travel to SUNY Poly for only their second league game of the season.  The Hawks return to Eden High School next week (April 10) when they host Medaille College at 4pm.

Be sure to stay up-to-date on all your Hilbert Hawk scores and awards by following @HilbertAthletic on Twitter and by liking the "Hilbert College Athletics" Facebook page.   Additionally fans of the Hawks who have an Apple device can receive push notification from the Hilbert College Hawks iOS SideArm mobile App which can be found in the Apple Store and in ITunes.