By Jami Sponaugle

Mount Vernon, IA - In their 2023 season opener, the Illinois Tech Scarlet Hawks men's lacrosse team hit the road to take on the Cornell College Rams in non-conference action. The Hawks came out hot, with Jackson Brass and Aidan Gans scoring a goal a piece within the first minute of action. From there, the Hawks (1-0) would go on to score multiple goals in each quarter while holding the Rams (1-1) to just four goals total. 

First Quarter (Illinois Tech 3 - Cornell 0)

• Brass began the game with an unassisted goal just 10 seconds into the contest. 49 seconds later, Gans scored an unassisted goal of his own to quickly put the Hawks up 2-0. 

• Both sides then struggled to find the back of the net with a scoreless streak lasting almost the entirety of the quarter. With just 3 seconds left, Ryan Arbour put the Hawks up 3-0 with an unassisted goal. 

Second Quarter (Illinois Tech 5 - Cornell 2)

• Kyle Jussila got his first and the Rams first goal of the game at the 12:03 mark in the second quarter. 

• Arbour would go on to get his second unassisted goal at the 9:43 mark.

• 43 seconds later, Jonathan Vitale scored off a Yano Porter assist, putting the Hawks up 5-1. 

• Jussila then got his second goal for the Rams at 5:51 in a man-up situation off a Rory MacLean assist. 

• Brass then secured his hat-trick with back-to-back goals at 4:33 and 3:05. Gan assisted the second goal.

• Juan Bohorquez joined in on the goal scoring for the Hawks with 19 seconds remaining before halftime off a Gans assist. At halftime, the Hawks led the Rams 8-2.

Third Quarter (Illinois Tech 3 - Cornell 1)

• 37 seconds into the start of the third quarter, Gans scored his second goal of the game. 

• At the 11:52 mark, Jussila recorded the Rams 3rd goal off another MacLean assist. 

• Porter's second goal of the game came at the 5:50 mark from a Vitale assist. Here, the Hawks led the Rams 10-3. 

• Diego Sosa would notch a goal with 25 seconds remaining in the quarter off a Porter assist.

Fourth Quarter (Illinois Tech 4 - Cornell 1)

• Brass scored his fourth and final of the game from a Spencer Meace assist at the 12:44 mark in the fourth quarter. 

• Sosa followed with an unassisted goal at 11:02 to make the game 13-3.

• Meace then scored a goal for the Hawks at 8:44. 

• Jussila scored his and the Rams final goal of the game at 6:05 remaining. 

• Jeremy Cohen scored the final goal of the game with 3:27 on the clock to seal the Hawks 15-4 victory. 

 Scarlet Hawk Standouts

• Brass led the Hawks with 4 goals and 7 ground balls. Brass recorded 9 shots, 8 of which were on frame. 

• Arbour, Gans, and Sosa all scored 2 goals. 

• Vitale, Porter, Meace, Bohorquez, and Cohen each recorded 1 goal. 

• Zane Handy earned the win and made 4 saves during the game. 

Rams Standouts

• Kyle Jussila recorded all four of the Rams goals and led the team in shots with 9. 

• Thomas Cook tallied 9 ground balls. 

• Luke Baldwin, Ethan Kupka, and Jack Barton all had 4 shots.

Inside the Box Score

• The Hawks recorded 50 ground balls compared to the Rams 33

• The Hawks had 62 shots, 41 of which were on goal versus the Rams 23 shots, 11 on goal. 

• In clears, the Hawks were 18-of-20, while the Rams were 21-of-30. 

• The Hawks won 17-of-22 faceoffs. 

Head Coach Dan Sharbaugh Comments

"It was great getting out there this early in the spring. I felt like we came out energized and made a lot of the tough, hustle plays throughout the game. We have a lot of work to do with execution but felt like we played with energy and focus which were major focal points going into the season. There's plenty of work to do from here but it was a great foundation to lay down."

Up Next

On Wednesday, the Hawks travel to Grand Rapids, Mich. to take on the Calvin College Knights in non-conference action. Face-off is scheduled for 6:00p.m.