STEUBENVILLE, Ohio - February 26, 2022 – Behind a pair of hat tricks, Hiram College men's lacrosse picked up a 10-8 win over the Franciscan University Barons on Saturday in their 2022 season opener at Trinity Health System Field.
 
Dominic Miraglia got the Barons on the scoreboard first with his unassisted goal two minutes into the opening period, before the Terriers answered with three straight to take a 3-1 lead.
 
Just under five minutes after Miraglia's goal, Ethan Mayer got Hiram on the scoreboard off an assist from Noah Pilgram, and a minute later Ambrose Colliluori found the back of the net, again off an assist from Pilgram, to give Hiram a 2-1 advantage.
 
Later in the quarter, with 1:29 left in the first, Trevor Flugum, off Pilgram's third assist of the quarter, scored his first goal to extend Hiram's lead to 3-1.
 
Pilgram then added his first career goal to his tally, opening the second period scoring with his unassisted goal with 13:58 remaining in the first half.
 
Franciscan's Joseph Redmond made it 4-2 a little over a minute later, but the Terriers quickly answered, as Mayer picked up his second goal of the afternoon, off an assist from Aaron Garnder.
 
The Terriers, with Markus Johnson dominating in the face-off circle, added another goal on Isaiah Davilla's first of the year with 7:17 remaining in the first half and took a 6-3 halftime lead after Gavin Cook cut Hiram's lead to three with a little over six minutes left in the second quarter.
 
The Terriers dominated the opening half, outshooting Franciscan, 23-10, and winning seven of 11 face-offs.
 
After a slow start to the third, Andrew Carpenter cut Hiram's advantage to just one, finding the back of the net off an assist from Alexander Dhabliwala.
 
But just under two minutes later, Hiram responded with three-straight goals of their own. Colliluori picked up his second, assisted by Flugum, with 8:22 left in the third. And after Johnson won another face-off, Flugum returned the favor, scoring off an assist from Colliluori to make it an 8-4 Hiram lead.
 
And then after a Franciscan turnover just a few minutes later, Mayer completed his hat trick, scoring off an assist from Pilgram to make it a 9-4 ballgame.
 
Samuel Marshall would sneak one past Bricen Jones with 2:52 left in the third, but the Terriers would take a four-goal, 9-5 lead into the fourth.
 
Franciscan though, kept things close, pulling within three on Cook's second goal of the day, off an assist from Marshall with 13:48 to play.
 
With 10:50 to play, Colliluori completed his hat track, giving Hiram two on the day, with his third goal off an assist from Brett Johnson, and extended the Terriers' lead back to four.
 
However, after a five-minute scoreless stretch, Marshall again scored to cut Hiram's lead back down to three, before Cook picked up a hat trick of his own to make it 10-8 with 1:34 to play.
 
But Franciscan's late run would prove to be too little, too late, as Pilgram forced a turnover on the ensuing Baron's possession, and Hiram held possession the rest of the way to finish off the 10-8 victory.
 
With the win, Hiram moves to 1-0 on the year, while Franciscan drops to 0-1.
 
Colliluori and Mayer each led the Terriers with three goals apiece, as five Terriers found the back of the net. Flugum, Davilla and Pilgram joined Colliluori and Mayer in the scoring column, with Flugum scoring a pair and Davilla and Pilgram each finding the back of the net once.
 
Pilgram led Hiram with four assists for a total of five points, while Colliluori, Flugum, Brett Johnson and Garner each added an assist as well.
 
Mayer led Hiram with 10 shots, seven of which were on goal, while Gray Perry and Markus Johnson each totaled a game-high 11 ground balls.
 
Defensively, Perry also added a game-high eight caused turnovers, while Markus Johnson led Hiram in the circle with 11 face-off wins, while William Luketich added three.
 
As a team, Hiram outshot Franciscan, 39-27, winning 14-of-21 face-off opportunities.
 
In goal for the Terriers, Bricen Jones played all 60 minutes, making eight saves.
 
The Terriers will look to keep rolling when they return to Hiram for their home opener on Wednesday, March 2 against Bethany College at 4:30 p.m. at Charles A. Henry Field at Malmisur Stadium.