ANGOLA, IND.-- The Trine men's lacrosse team will face Albion in the MIAA Tournament Semifinals this Thursday night.
The Thunder and Britons will square off at 7:00 p.m. at Albion's Schmidt-Fraser Field inside Sprankle-Sprandel Stadium. Trine earned the no. 3 seed in the MIAA Tournament after finishing the regular-season in a three-way tie for third-place. The Thunder won the tie-break by virtue of their goal differential in games against Hope and Olivet, and their regular-season victory over the Comets. Albion is the no. 2 seed in the tournament after finishing 5-1 in league play. The Britons are coming off a loss to league-champion Adrian in the season-finale.
Admission for the contest is $7 for adults and $5 for senior-citizens and students. Trine and Albion students must present their college identification to be admitted free. Students who do not bring ID will be charged the $5 admission fee.
The Britons present a tough matchup as the top-scoring team in the league. Leading the attack is junior Tim Urso, who is tied for third in the league with 56 points. He has racked up that total on 33 goals and 23 assists.
Trine finished the regular-season sixth in the conference in scoring. Leading the Thunder attack with 31 goals is Chris Ward (Oak Lawn, Ill./St. Rita). The sophomore has scored nine goals over the last two games. George Youpel (Chicago Ridge, Ill./St. Rita) has scored 23 goals, while Patrick Walker (Round Lake Park, Ill./Grayslake North) has notched a team-high 16 assists.
A key matchup to watch will be between two of the top faceoff men in the MIAA. Albion's Cameron Clements and Trine senior Rob Brzezinski (Livonia, Mich./Detroit Catholic Central) have each won 58 percent of their faceoff attempts this season. Brzezinski is also Trine's all-time leader in ground balls.
Albion goaltender Kyle Formanczyk leads the MIAA in goals-against average (6.85) and save percentage (.653). Thunder counterpart Matt Lamb (Akron, Ohio/Revere) is fourth in the league with a .511 save percentage.
The winner of Thursday night's contest advances to the 2014 MIAA Men's Lacrosse Championship, where they will face the winner of the other semifinal between Olivet and Adrian.