ANGOLA, Ind.-- The Trine men's lacrosse team handily beat Concordia Chicago 16-3 Saturday afternoon at Fred Zollner Athletic Stadium.
The Thunder controlled the game throughout, outshooting Concordia 66 to 14 and forcing 36 turnovers. Jake Ahearn (Naperville, Ill. / Naperville), Nick Maher (DeWitt, Mich. / DeWitt), Jordan Lelito (West Chicago, Ill. / West Chicago), and Conner Putman (Ridgefield, Conn. / Ridgefield) all had two goals for the home squad, and Paul Carlquist (Downers Grove, Ill. / Downers Grove South) notched a hat trick. The victory improved Trine's record to 3-2 and extends the team's winning-streak to three. Concordia Chicago fell to 0-5.
Six players had mutli-point games for the Thunder. Maher, Carlquist, and Lelito each had three points, while Ahearn, Putman, and Daniel Shine (Chicago, Ill. / Lane College Tech Prep) all chipped in two. Carlquist also led the team in ground balls with eight. Jordan Loeffler had a goal and an assist for the Cougars, while Adam Ortiz and Noah Bachofen each had seven groundballs.
Trine won 14-of-22 faceoffs, led by Lelito, who was eight-for-eight. Travis Lores moved to above .500 (3-2) on the season, allowing just one goal in 35:16.
Trine led 4-0 after the first quarter. Concordia got within three on a Cal Crawford goal early in the second, but the Thunder pulled away after that, scoring nine goals in a row, six of them in the second quarter.
Jordan Backer (Centerville, Ohio / Centerville) contributed his second goal of the season. The Thunder have now gotten a goal from a defender in all but one game this season, with Backer and Colin O'Keefe (Gurnee, Ill. / Warren Township) each tallying two goals this year.
Trine was a near-perfect 23-of-24 on clearing attempts, with the one unsuccessful attempt coming in the fourth quarter.
The Thunder take next week off before returning to action Saturday, April 2 at Baldwin Wallace University. Face-off is slated for 2 p.m.
Article contributed by Grant Tingley, Trine University, Communications '19
