FAIRFIELD, Conn. – Max Tuttle's man-up goal 0:35 into the fourth quarter proved to be the difference Saturday as the Sacred Heart men's lacrosse team defeated the Hobart Statesmen 8-7 at Campus Field.

Tuttle had two goals in the game, as did Brian Masi who added an assist for three points. Bryce Jurk also had three points on a goal and two assists. Brooks Dutton made 14 saves in goal. Ryan O'Donoghue led the defense with four caused turnovers and five groundballs. Matt Caracappa added three caused turnovers.

Sacred Heart (5-3, 1-1 NEC) came out firing as Jurk scored 1:13 into the game to give the Pioneers' a 1-0 lead. Joe Saggese then scored at the 10:34 mark, with an assist from Nick Albanese, to put SHU ahead 2-0. Hobart (4-5, 1-1 NEC) got on the board with 9:22 to play on a goal by Sam Mueller. Twenty-one seconds later, freshman Quinn Cichocki scored his first career goal to put the Pioneers up 3-1.  The Statesmen tied the game 3-3 in the second quarter. Frank Brown got Hobart within one with his man-up goal 0:15 into the second. Tanner John then tied the game with 5:47 left in the half. Jackson Brown made four saves in the quarter to keep the Pioneers off the board in the quarter.

After scoring three goals in the first half, SHU scored three goals in the first 4:23 of the third quarter. Masi struck first with 13:19 to play in the quarter, getting an assist from Jurk to make the score 4-3. Tuttle then scored 0:36 later to put the Pioneers up by two 5-3. Kevin Cop capped the run with his goal at the 10:37 mark to make the score 6-3. Hobart responded with four straight goals over a stretch of six minutes to take a 7-6 lead with 3:58 to play in the third. Masi tied the game 7-7 with 0:56 left in the third quarter. SHU was on the man-up to start the fourth quarter after Justin Scott was called for slashing. Tuttle scored 0:35 into the final period to give SHU an 8-7 lead. The Pioneers outshot Hobart 10-7 in the fourth, but it was Dutton's three saves and six Statesmen turnovers that sealed the win for SHU.

Hobart outshot Sacred Heart 40-39 and won 12 of 16 faceoffs. The Pioneers held a 24-20 advantage in groundballs. Seven different Statesmen scored a goal Saturday for Hobart. Bryan Hancock led Hobart with two assists and three points. 

The Pioneers are on the road next weekend to take on Mount St. Mary's on April 1 at 12 p.m.