Hat Trick

The Blast has found a consistent method for success in the early Major Indoor Soccer League season: Get a hat trick, then hunker down on defense late. Friday night against the Philadelphia KiXX, it was forward Machel Millwood's turn to pull off the feat. His third goal of the game midway through the third quarter turned out to be the game-winner as the home team blanked the KiXX in the fourth quarter to come away with a 9-8 win in front of 6,624 at 1st Mariner Arena. The Blast (3-1)

The No. 2 Northwestern women's lacrosse team has a habit of handing out beat-downs, not taking them. But No. 4 host Florida used a fast-starting offense to build a big lead and win, 22-4, Saturday. The Wildcats (13-2, 4-1 American Lacrosse Conference), who have won seven NCAA championships in the past eight years, suffered their worst loss since the program returned to Division I 12 years ago. Florida also clinched a share of the American Lacrosse Conference regular-season crown for the third straight year.

Brooke Matthews (Friends) notched a hat trick as top-ranked Northwestern closed out the road portion of its 2010 season with a 13-6 victory over No. 18 Penn State. Katrina Dowd recorded four goals and added three assists for Northwestern (11-0, 2-0 American Lacrosse Conference). ... Molly Ford ( Notre Dame Prep) had three goals and three assists as No. 14 Georgetown (7-5, 5-0 Big East) withstood a second-half rally to beat host Louisville, 17-13. ... Kim Cudmore (Bel Air)

Loyola sophomore Hannah Schmitt stunned No. 5 Notre Dame (10-1, 4-1 Big East Conference) with a sudden-death goal to hand the host Fighting Irish its first loss of the season on Friday, 14-13. In the second overtime period, Notre Dame won the draw but turned the ball over to freshman Annie Thomas. Greyhounds sophomore Sydney Thomas chased down the clear attempt and found Schmitt open on the left wing. Schmitt beat the defense down the field and scored the game-winning goal. No. 20 Loyola (6-6, 3-1)

Men's college lacrosse Cummings' hat trick lifts No. 8 Terps , 12-8 Host Mount St. Mary's (4-8) hung with No. 8 Maryland (8-4) for a quarter before the Terps pulled away in the second quarter and went on to win, 12-8, Wednesday night. Joe Cummings (Loyola) had a hat trick and scored his 100th career point for Maryland. Bryant Schmidt (St. Mary's-Ryken) scored twice for the Mount. Tewaaraton Award: The Tewaaraton Foundation announced that the list of candidates for the annual honor given to the top men's players has been whittled to 25. No. 1 Loyola and No. 13 Johns Hopkins are two of five programs with two representatives on the list.

Led by Tony Donatelli's hat trick, the Blast earned a victory Thursday night over the Missouri Comets in Game 1 of the MISL championship series. Ptah Myers, Adauto Neto and Machel Millwood added two goals each for the Blast, and goalkeeper William Vanzela recorded 18 saves. Game 2 is set for Saturday night at 1st Mariner Arena , with a deciding mini-game to be played immediately after regulation, if needed. The Comets are no strangers to an opening loss, having rallied in the semifinals to beat the Milwaukee Wave in Game 2 and the mini-game.

Colleges Parker's hat trick helps Terps rally in field hockey Friday Fourth-ranked Maryland (6-1, 1-0 Atlantic Coast Conference) scored seven straight goals to rally from a three-goal deficit late in the first half and earn a 7-4 field hockey win over No. 18 Boston College (4-3, 0-1) on Friday night in College Park. Terps freshman Alyssa Parker (Glenelg) scored her first career goal and hat trick. Maryland honored Missy Meharg before the game for her 25th season as the Terps ' coach; she has won seven national titles, won nine ACC championships, appeared in 14 final fours and won nine National Coach of the Year honors.

Lacrosse Cyr's hat trick helps No. 11 PSU women past No. 8 UVa.   Mackenzie Cyr (Winters Mill) had her third three-goal game of the season to lead No. 11 Penn State to a 15-14 victory at No. 8 Virginia. After trailing 8-5 at halftime, the Nittany Lions (3-1) scored six straight. The Cavaliers went on a 4-0 run, but Penn State responded with four goals to take a 15-12 lead. Virginia tallied twice to make it a one-goal game but committed a foul on the ensuing draw, allowing the Nittany Lions to run out the clock.

College field hockey Witmer leads No. 3 UM past Villanova, 6-3 The No. 3 Maryland field hockey team (5-1) held off visiting Villanova, 6-3, on Sunday as sophomore Jill Witmer led the Terrapins' attack in the second half with her first career hat trick to break open a halftime tie. Senior Jemma Buckley had a first-half goal, and junior transfer Nikki Fernandez scored her first goal as a Terrapin. College soccer Hunter's goal gives Mids title at Navy Invitational Freshman midfielder Rachel Hunter scored in the 95th minute to give the Navy women's soccer team a 1-0 overtime victory over visiting Davidson (2-4-1)

Sean Rogers completed his hat trick with the game-winner in overtime as the No.7 Notre Dame men's lacrosse team beat host Hofstra, 6-5, on Saturday at James M. Shuart Stadium. Notre Dame (3-1) trailed 4-3 late in regulation when Jim Marlatt evened the score with 1:02 left. Marlatt had two goals and two assists on the day. Rogers gave the Irish a 5-4 lead with just 12 seconds left in the fourth quarter. His three goals matched a career-high. Rogers also had an assist. Hofstra (2-3)

Senior Eric Law scored in the second overtime period as No. 1 Denver defeated visiting Bellarmine, 11-10, in men's lacrosse Sunday afternoon. The Pioneers' Cameron Flint matched a career high with four goals for his 10th career hat trick. The Pioneers (9-2, 4-0 Eastern College Athletic Conference) recorded 57 shots in the contest, three shy of tying the Division I single-game record, but goalkeeper Dillon Ward finished with 20 saves for the Knights (7-3, 3-3). No. 7 Notre Dame 13, Providence 8: The Fighting Irish ended the game on a 7-2 run in a win over the host Friars (7-5, 1-3)

Led by a 23-save performance by freshman Kieran Burke, the No. 3 North Carolina men's lacrosse team beat No. 15 host Virginia, 10-7, Saturday. The Tar Heels (8-3, 2-1 Atlantic Coast Conference) were outshot 51-32 by the Cavaliers (5-6, 0-2), but Burke made the most school saves since Paul Spellman had 25 in a 10-6 win over Maryland on March 22, 2003. Marcus Holman (Gilman) had three goals for Carolina. Georgetown 14, No. 6 St. John's 13, OT: Dan McKinney scored the game-winner with 3:24 left in overtime as the Hoyas (5-6, 2-1 Big East)

Host Severna Park boys lacrosse trailed No. 9 Severn by one goal at halftime before going on a 4-2 run in the third quarter to spark a 9-8 upset victory Thursday night. "Severna Park outhustled and dominated the groundball battle," Severn coach Brian Wood said. "They made the plays when they had to and we did not. " Weston Butcher led the Falcons (2-1) with four goals, and Ryan Lamon had a game-high five goals for the Admirals (4-2). No. 3 Calvert Hall 10, Conestoga (Pa.)

Joey Sankey had his third straight game with four goals to lead the host No. 4 North Carolina men's lacrosse team past No. 14 Brown, 18-12, on Wednesday night. The teams traded goals for the first 21:40 before the Tar Heels scored four goals in a row to take a 8-4 lead late in the second quarter. Carolina won for the third straight game and improved to 6-3. Seven of Carolina's first nine games this season have come against Top 20 teams, and its next three opponents are also ranked.

Sophomore Wes Berg scored six goals, including the game-winner in overtime, as No. 2 Denver beat visiting Air Force, 11-10, in men's lacrosse on Tuesday. Air Force's Erik Smith tied the game at 10 with 17 seconds left in regulation before Berg found the net 1:04 into the overtime period. The six-goal performance marked Berg's fifth hat trick of the season and eighth of his career. Senior Eric Law tallied four points on one goal and three assists, while senior Colin Scott recorded a pair of goals for Denver (6-2, 2-0 Eastern Collegiate Athletic Conference)

Boys' Latin, No. 1 in both the Inside Lacrosse and Baltimore Sun polls, was sorely tested Tuesday by Culver Academy (Indiana). The host Lakers twice fell behind by two goals in the fourth quarter before using a 4-0 run to sprint past the Eagles to win, 11-9. Boys' Latin coach Bob Shriver described Culver Academy (1-1) as "not very deep but very talented" and credited the play of Culver goalie Michael Calvello (12 saves) in the first half, which ended in a 2-2 tie. The game was tied at 5 at the start of the fourth quarter.

Scoring two goals against Glen Burnie last Tuesday must have ignited a fire underneath North County's Mike Hoskins.The junior speedster continued his scoring binge Friday, recording a hat trick against Old Mill, as the Knights blanked the visitors, 4-0, in a 4A boys soccer matchup at Leroy G. Carter Field.North County's latest triumph upped its overall record to 6-0 (2-0 league), leaving it as the only undefeated squad in the entire county -- a fact that head coach Steve Malone knows too well.

  UMBC senior defender Ethan Murphy scored his first goal of the season to break an 8-8 tie and the host Retrievers held on to defeat Mount St. Mary's, 10-8, on Saturday. Murphy scored the game-winner with 6:48 left. He also finished with six ground balls and three caused turnovers. UMBC goalkeeper Wes DiRito had 11 saves and allowed only two second-half goals. The Retrievers (3-5) led 7-6 at halftime before the Mountaineers (4-6) tied the game at 7, and then again at 8. Murphy and Scott Jones scored to put UMBC up 10-8.

Led by Tony Donatelli's hat trick, the Blast earned a victory Thursday night over the Missouri Comets in Game 1 of the MISL championship series. Ptah Myers, Adauto Neto and Machel Millwood added two goals each for the Blast, and goalkeeper William Vanzela recorded 18 saves. Game 2 is set for Saturday night at 1st Mariner Arena , with a deciding mini-game to be played immediately after regulation, if needed. The Comets are no strangers to an opening loss, having rallied in the semifinals to beat the Milwaukee Wave in Game 2 and the mini-game.