ONEONTA, NY -- The Alfred University men's lacrosse team dropped its road match-up against Hartwick College on Saturday afternoon, 18-14.

The Saxons (7-5, 3-2 Empire 8) opened up by scoring the first two goals on the Hawks (2-9, 2-3 Empire 8). Michael Gruin (Hamburg, NY/Orchard Park) and Nick Volpe (Corning, NY/Corning-Painted Post) connected on both the goals, each scoring one and assisting the other.

Cole Loewke (Hilton, NY/Hilton) made it a 3-1 game in the opening five minutes of the game. Loewke led all Saxon scorers with five goals and two assists. Gruin and Volpe both had five points of their own with Volpe scoring three goals and Gruin adding on four assists alongside his opening goal of the game.

Sam Crosby (Auburn, NY/Auburn) scored Alfred's lone man-up goal with Keagan Hoesterey (Palmyra, NY/Palmyra-Macedon) getting the apple to even the game up at seven at halftime. He added on with a goal of his own with under five minutes to go in the fourth.

Hunter Cupp (Bath, NY/Haverling) and Marcus Darminio (Marcellus, NY/Marcellus) traded goals in the third quarter, stopping a four-goal scoring streak by Hartwick to open the second half. Cupp dominated in the face-off circle, winning 30-of-34 face-offs.

His 30 face-off wins set a new single game record for face-off wins, breaking the record set by Garrette Briggs '21 of 29 wins against Houghton in 2019. In addition, he tied the record Briggs set for most ground balls in a single game with 24.

In the crease, Alex Petrangelo (Niskayuna, NY/Niskayuna) made 15 saves in the loss. AU scored the final three goals of the game, but ultimately fell short in their comeback efforts.

Alfred University will next play in its penultimate regular season home game against Nazareth University on Wednesday at 4:00 PM.