ANGOLA, Ind. - It was a dominating performance for the Trine University men’s lacrosse team as they earned a 15-1 conference win over the Milwaukee School of Engineering. With the win, the Thunder improve to 5-2 on the season and 2-0 in the MLC.
It didn’t take the Thunder long to put one up on the board as senior Dan LaFond (Neenah, Wis./Neenah) scored just 1:01 into the game on an assist from junior Dalton Madsen (Westminster, Colo./Northglenn). LaFond would score on a man-up opportunity late in the first quarter as the Thunder tacked on four goals in the period.
Trine would score on another man-up opportunity to start the second quarter as senior Blaine Stahley (Grand Rapids, Mich./East Grand Rapids) score just 15 seconds into the extra-man chance on an assist from Madsen. Trine would score five goals in the final 5:18 of the half, including goals by freshman Patrick Walker (Round Lake Park, Ill./Grayslake) and Stahley in the final minute as Stahley tallied his with just three seconds to go. Walker scored twice in the period as Trine led 10-0 at the half.
The Raiders would tally their only goal of the game just 50 seconds into the second half.
From there, Madsen and senior Eric Thompson (Cumberland, Maine/Greely) scored for the Thunder in the third period as they extended their lead to 12-1.
Trine would add goals by freshman Adam Martin (Farmington Hills, Mich./Detroit Catholic Cen.), senior Andy Lauer (Fishers, Ind./Hamilton Southeastern) and junior Ryan Chait (Cincinnati, Ohio/Indian Hill) in the final frame to secure the Thunder victory.
Madsen led the Thunder offense with a hat trick and three assists. LaFond, Lauer, Stahley, Thompson and Walker all added in a pair of goals while Stahley also picked up five groundballs. Sophomore Rob Brzezinski (Livonia, Mich./Detroit Catholic Central) led Trine with a game-high seven groundballs. Sam Swerdlow (Murrysville, Pa./Franklin Regional), a senior, led the Thunder defense with three caused turnovers while picking up five groundballs.
In goal for the Thunder senior Alex Gregg (Zionsville, Ind./Zionsville) recorded nine saves in the game, including five in the third period alone.
The two teams maintained similar stats for the game with the only difference coming on shots taken, as the Thunder out-shot MSOE 43-17. The two teams split the faceoffs as each team won nine. Trine held a 39-30 groundball advantage, while MSOE committed 27 turnovers compared to 23 for the Thunder. Trine was near perfect on their clearing opportunities, converting 22-of-23 while the Raiders were able to clear just 13-of-23. The Thunder were able to score on 3-of-7 man-up chances while MSOE was just 0-for-1.
Trine will welcome another conference opponent in Aurora on April 4 for a 7:00 p.m. game.
