by Sports Information Student Assistant Zach Bigger
PITTSBURGH - In their first ever matchup against La Roche College, the Trine University men’s lacrosse team rolled to a decisive 15-5 victory over the Redhawks. The win puts the Thunder at 3-2 on the seasons.
Led by senior Dan LaFond’s (Neenah, Wis./Neenah) career-high day of four goals on 4-for-5 shooting, Trine was tied 2-2 midway through the first quarter before rolling off 12 consecutive goals to take a commanding 14-2 lead late in the third quarter. The Thunder capitalized on the mistake prone play of the Redhawks, scoring almost half of their goals through man-up opportunities alone thanks to 11 penalties they registered.
After senior Blaine Stahley (Grand Rapids, Mich./East Grand Rapids) opened the scoring with a quick goal with an assist from fellow senior midfielder Eric Thompson (Cumberland, Maine/Greely), the Redhawks came back with a response a few minutes later off a broken play in which sophomore attackman Dustin Reydkal (Red Deer, Alberta/Hunting Hills)split a double team from the back left corner before wrapping around the right goal post and hitting the easy shot. The Thunder and Redhawks would then trade goals once more, a long shot from outside for LaRoche, and the first of Dan LaFond’s (Neenah, Wis./Neenah) four goals in a 17 minute span for the Thunder.
La Roche then began to show its inexperience by racking three penalties in one possession, a 30 second hold, one minute slash, and three minute illegal equipment penalty off the ensuing timeout to setup their man-down defense. The Thunder took the opportunity and ran with it, putting together their finest performance on man-up all season long, scoring three goals during the duration of the penalties. The Thunder finished off the first quarter with a strong defensive stand after a three minute unsportsmanlike penalty put them in a tough spot and tested their ability of the man-down unit to maintain passing lanes and contest shots.
In the second quarter, after Dan LaFond scored for the third time off a high shot that grazed the top corner, Trine sophomore defenseman David Lewis (Burnsville, Minn./Apple Valley) barreled his way down the field before hitting a low shot in the bottom right corner of the net to become the first defenseman to score for the Thunder all season. For Lewis, it was his first official goal of his college and high school career after previous playing goalie for his entire career. Trine scored three more goals to cap consecutive five goal quarters, taking a 10-2 lead into halftime.
Just like in the first half, Stahley was the catalyst for the Thunder, opening the scoring in the second half on the way to a four goal, one assist performance. Trine continued to stretch the lead with another strong showing from junior attackman Dalton Madsen (Westminster, Colo./Northglenn), who had a two goal, three assist effort, including two assists late in the third quarter that extend the Thunder’s margin to twelve, 14-2, with a little more than four minutes left in the third quarter. The Redhawks finally got back on the board after an almost thirty eight minute drought with a short bounce shot that went through the legs of the Thunder goalie.
The fourth quarter started well once more for the Thunder, as Madsen’s second goal of the day built the Thunder lead to 15-3. Mere moments later though, the Thunder racked up two penalties in a ninety second span, but the defense held strong, holding La Roche to 0-for-5 on man-up opportunities in the game. La Roche closed out the scoring against Trine’s backups with two goals from Jean Thouin.
In goal for the Thunder, senior Alex Gregg (Zionsville, Ind./Zionsville) made 10 saves in just over 40 minutes of work to earn the win. Sophomore Matt Lamb (Akron, Ohio/Revere) came on in relief playing the final 19 minutes and change, making five saves.
Trine will action on March 31 when they open conference play when they host Concordia (WI) at 1:00 p.m.
