FINAL SCORE: Vermont 11, Sacred Heart 10
FAIRFIELD, Conn. – Jack Knight culminated a five-point day (2 goals, 3 assists) by breaking a 10-10 tie in the final second of regulation as the Vermont men's lacrosse team took down Sacred Heart by an 11-10 score at Campus Field on Saturday afternoon.
 
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UVM improves to 4-3 with the win, while the Pioneers' are now 4-2 after having their four-game win streak halted.
 
Dawes Milchling notched his sixth career hat trick and third this season, while Ben French had two goals and a pair of assists. Nick Washuta made 15 saves for the Catamounts to preserve the outcome and SHU's Brooks Dutton made eight stops in the loss.
 
The Catamounts took a 1-0 lead less than two minutes into the game on Alex Stanko's first of the day at the 13:24 mark of the first quarter. Later in the period Sacred Heart countered with a quick pair via Max Tuttle and Bryce Jurk, but Stanko tied the score at two while on an EMO with 3:41 left. The span of 1:32 immediately preceding Stanko's goal was the only window all day in which Vermont trailed.
 
Both sides then exchanged goals into the second quarter, with Cam Milligan and French finding the cage for Vermont. UVM closed the half with a three-goal run as Knight and Milchling (2) sent the Catamounts into the break with a 7-4 lead.
 
Sacred Heart scored five of the first seven goals of the second half to even the score at nine-all with 10:20 left in regulation. Tuttle and Jurk each netted two-apiece for the Pioneers in the sequence. Michael Clarke restored the Vermont lead with 6:17 left on a feed from Stanko.
 
In the final two minutes Tuttle scored his final of five goals, taking a pass from Joe Saggese and finishing the opportunity with 1:39 on the clock to enter the game's sixth tie. Knight then sent the Catamounts into celebration after exiting a timeout called with 11 seconds left.
 
Charlie Erdmann was 18-for-23 at the faceoff X and scooped up a game-high 10 ground balls. Five other Catamounts had two apiece. Ben Cox caused two Sacred Heart turnovers. As a team, UVM was 10-for-11 on clears and had the edge in ground balls, 27-23.
 
Milligan has now scored a goal in 14 consecutive games which ranks among the top-5 active streaks in Division I. He has also recorded a point in each of his 39 games as a Catamount, sitting nationally among the top-10 in that category.
 
Vermont returns to Virtue Field next Saturday (March 18) to host No. 9 Albany in a 1 p.m. contest. Fans are encouraged to join us for Poster Day presented by The UPS Store of South Burlington as complimentary schedule posters will be distributed.
 
The 2017 men's lacrosse season is presented by The Vermont National Guard.