Washington, DC - (2/16/2019) – The 2019 season got underway today, Saturday, February 16, for Chestnut Hill College, who traveled down to the nation's capital for an afternoon contest at the University of the District of Columbia (UDC). A late second-quarter rally, headlined by sophomore midfielder Ben Revak (Aston, Pa.), was the turning point for the Griffins, who emerged from a 5-4 deficit for an eventual 16-12 victory. Revak shined in his Scarlet and Gold debut with six scores and he received plenty of support as senior midfielder John Bennett (Plymouth Meeting, Pa.) (3 goals, 1 assist), senior attack Casey Brown (Havre de Grace, Md.) (1 goal, 3 assists), junior attack Scott Wilden (Wexford, Pa.) (2 goals, 2 assists), and sophomore attack J.R. Howell (East Meadow, N.Y.) (1 goal, 3 assists) provided four points apiece.
 
Freshman midfielder Jacob Saunders (?) put UDC (0-1) on the scoreboard first with a man-up goal at 6:03 (1-0) of the first quarter. But their initial lead was short lived as back-to-back unassisted goals from Howell (1-1, 4:36) and Revak (2-1, 2:24) put Chestnut Hill College (1-0) in the driver's seat. Unfortunately, the Firebirds netted a pair of unassisted goals (0:37, 0:02) of their own before the end of the frame to take a 3-2 lead into the second quarter. Another UDC score at 12:57 of the new frame pushed the home team to a 4-2 advantage, but just seconds later Wilden located sophomore attack Carson Rees (Port Coquitlam, British Columbia) (4-3, 12:13) and later Brown (10:51) to even the score, 4-4. The Firebirds took the lead for the last time at 9:32 (5-4) as Revak's back-to-back tallies (2:54, 0:06) concluded the first-half scoring, 6-5.
 
Revak's carried the Griffin momentum into the second half, scoring a third straight goal at 13:31, 7-5. Succeeding Scarlet and Gold goals at 12:19, 8:00, and 6:44 distanced Chestnut Hill College by five goals (10-5); a lead that proved valuable as the Firebirds rattled off four consecutive scores to narrow the margin to a single tally, 10-9. Fortunately, Howell and Bennett connected just before the end of the third quarter (1:47) to leave the Griffins with an 11-9 advantage heading to the final frame. There, the Griffins outscored the Firebirds 5-3 to enjoy a 16-12 victory.

Senior midfielder Tyler Mace (Victoria, British Columbia) led UDC with four goals and an assist. He also recorded a ground ball and a caused turnover. Senior attack Alan Singleton (Montreal, Canada) was a factor as well with two goals and two assists. In goal, senior Nikolas Lund-Murray (New Westminster, British Columbia) (0-1) provided an assist, three ground balls, and a dozen (12) saves in the loss.
 
Chestnut Hill College outshot UDC 53-35, led by 15 shots from Revak and another 11 from Wilden. Wilden complimented Revak's six scores with two goals and two assists; he also recovered a ground ball. Bennett recorded three goals and an assist, while both Brown and Howell finished with a goal and three assists. Brown and Howell also grabbed three ground balls apiece. In addition to Rees, freshman midfielder Steele Mylroie (Clyde Hill, Wash.) and senior midfielder Nick Webber (Westwood, Mass.) accounted for the remaining Griffin goals. In net, freshman Austin Jones (Courtice, Ontario, Canada) (1-0) totaled 14 saves.
 
Chestnut Hill College returns to action on Saturday, February 23, when they welcome Wheeling Jesuit University to Victory Field #1 for a 12:00 p.m. home opener.