TONAWANDA, N.Y. - Nine different Hilbert players scored in a 24-15 defeat to Morrisville State, the NEAC league leaders in men's lacrosse. 

Its been eight years since Hilbert found 15 goals against the Mustangs and, in today's game at St. Joseph's Collegiate Institute, Hilbert became the first NEAC opponent this year to score that many goals against Morrisville. 

The Mustangs beat-up on the Hawks in the 1st and 3rd quarters, but Hilbert won the 4th session and matched point-for-point in the 2nd quarter as they fell to 2-3 in conference play.

Ryan Spath, James Duffy and Edward Mathias (2a) netted three goals apiece while Liam Doyle, Marc O'Neill, Anthony Cappola, Brandon Bitka, Joshua Maloney and Daniel Flynn each added one score.  

Drew Werner earned game high honors with four assists.

Elijah Ryan was credited with 12 saves and Spencer Kennedy corralled one impressive stop late in the game to hold the Mustangs scoreless the final nine minutes of play.

Joshua Maloney (17-37) and Ryan Spath (2-5) shared duties at the face off X as Morrisville controlled the restart more than 50% of the time (23-42).

Maloney and Morrisville's Shawn Walberger (21-36) battled at midfield most of the afternoon and they led their respective teams with nine ground balls.

Morrisville attacked on offense and scored 8 goals in the first 15 minutes while holding the Hawks to one score.  Besides their offensive over-load, the Mustangs pressured on defense and finished with 14 caused turnovers.

Mathias took a restart on the sideline right to the net and scored with little defensive coverage at his perfect number - 4:44, finally putting the Hawks on the scoreboard in the opening session.

Both teams scored five goals in the second quarter which gave Hilbert new life.  

Maloney's solo hit came off a face off where he battled through multiple body blows and stick checks as he bulled his way to the goal. Duffy netted twice and Doyle converted a man-up goal after quick passing around the horn led to a weak side, unguarded shot in front of the frame at 2:03.

The fourth quarter was all about pride.  Hilbert outscored the green and black by a 7-2 margin and reached over Morrisville's 11 goals per game allowed average which visibly frustrated the Mustang goalie. 

Mathias and Flynn scored man-up goals at the start of the period and Spath tallied twice by the final horn.

The 4-6 Hawks hit the road later this week when they travel for a non-conference game against Alfred State April 19 before the Easter holiday weekend.

Hilbert closes their regular season schedule the last week in April with a road match against the undefeated Keuka Wolves (April 24) and then host their final home game against Cobleskill over the weekend.

The men's lacrosse team will honor their three seniors - Marc O'Neill, James Duffy and Elijah Ryan on that Saturday, April 27th. 

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.