Sam Hurster ’14 led Brown with five goals against Hartford University and another three against St. Joseph’s University in consecutive non-conference victories last week.
“I’m not even sure (Hurster)’s playing his best lacrosse right now, and I’m sure he’d tell you the same thing,” said Head Coach Lars Tiffany ’90. “He’s a great goal scorer.”
The Bears (3-0, Ivy 0-0) annihilated Harftord 14-4, and vanquished St. Joseph’s 17-9 in two blowout victories.
Brown 14, Hartford 4
Hurster led Bruno with five goals, including three in a row over a span of five minutes in the fourth quarter to seal the deal for the Bears against Hartford (1-3).
Bruno jumped out to an early lead, matching Hartford’s total of four goals in the first six minutes. Hurster opened the scoring and was followed by tallies from Brendan Caputo ’16, Stephen Chmil ’14 and Nick Piroli ’15.
“I was really impressed with how our men had come out in the first quarter,” Tiffany said. “Our offense made them pay for overextending. It was really a satisfying moment as a coach, knowing that we’re ready to compete.”
Tate Kildonas scored the first of his two goals for the Hawks late in the first quarter, tightening the score to 4-1. Brown put up the next six goals, scored by Bailey Tills ’16, Alex Jones ’13, Tim Jacob ’15, Hurster and Henry Blynn ’16, who scored twice.
After two Hartford goals late in the third frame, Hurster began the fourth with a three-goal streak. Jacob added another goal with 4:17 left in the game.
George Sherman ’13 led Bruno with three assists, and goalie Jack Kelly ’16 stopped eight of 11 shots. The Bears led Hartford in face-offs won 15-7, ground balls 37-24 and shots 37-32.
The win made up for a 20-6 Bruno loss to Hartford last year.
“There was no shortage of reason to get up for this game,” Tiffany said. “We made a statement, scoring four goals in the first five minutes.”
Brown 17, St. Joseph’s 9
Hurster and Johnny DePeters ’13 each scored three goals Saturday to lead the Bears over St. Joseph’s (3-4) in another runaway victory.
“The offensive explosion was exciting to see,” Tiffany said. “We came out early and often. Our midfielders answered the bell and drilled their shots.”
Jacob got on the board first for Bruno, scoring the first of his two goals less than four minutes into the game. After the Hawks tied the game at one, the Bears scored the next five goals, putting them up 6-1 at the end of the first quarter. Jones scored two, Jacob added another and Blynn and Sherman also got on the board during the 5-0 run.
In the second quarter, DePeters scored twice, supplementing goals from Hurster and Caputo to put the Bears up 10-5 at the half.
Bruno added three more goals in the third period — DePeters scored his third goal of the game, while Sherman and Hurster followed up with a goal apiece.
“Every day in practice, we see (Hurster) start to become the goal scorer he was last year,” Tiffany said.
Brown scored four more goals in the fourth quarter, bolstered by goals from Piroli, Hurster and two from Nick St. Laurent ’15.
Sam Ford ’13 led the Bears with five ground balls — Bruno won the ground ball contest 32-19. They also converted all 14 of their clearing attempts and outshot the Hawks 46-30.
Blynn and Piroli led Brown with three assists each, and Kelly stopped nine shots.
Riding a three-game winning streak, Bruno will try to avenge a 10-9 overtime loss to Harvard (2-2) last year. The Bears will face off against the Crimson at Stevenson Field 7 p.m. Saturday.
“We prepare for each game the same, but this one’s personal,” Tiffany said. “We’re still feeling the pain from the loss in overtime. It’s going to be an opportunity to exact revenge for last year’s loss and to make a statement in the Ivy League.”
After Harvard, Bruno will embark on a three-game road trip over spring break.
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