TIFFIN, OHIO -- The Trine University men's lacrosse team snapped its two-game losing skid with a 14-5 win against Heidelberg University in a non-conference game in Tiffin, Ohio.
Senior Nick Maher (DeWitt, Mich./DeWitt) led the Trine scorers with a team-tying high three goals and two assists for five total points. Junior Connor Putman (Ridgefield, Conn./Ridgefield) was second in points with a pair of goals and assists.
Junior Eric Peal (Imperial, Mo./Seckman) tied Maher for the team-lead in goals with three. Sophomore Tyler Klima (Schaumburg, Ill./Schaumburg) rounded out the multiple goal scorers with two scores.
In addition, sophomore Justin Gearig (Vicksburg, Mich./Vicksburg) tied Maher and Putman for the team-lead in assists with two.
The two teams played a close first quarter with Trine (3-2) edging Heidelberg (4-2) on the scoreboard, 3-2, after the first 15 minutes. After giving up the first goal of the game to the Student Princes, the Thunder then scored three straight, beginning with a marker by Putman at the 9:40 mark. Just under a minute later, Maher found the back of the net for the first time with 8:41 to play that gave Trine a 2-1 advantage. Peal recorded the third goal of the period for Trine at the 6:27 mark that made the score, 3-1. But Heidelberg tallied the final goal with a little more than a minute-and-a-half to go to cut the Trine lead to a goal, 3-2, heading into the second quarter.
Trine began to pull away in the second, outscoring Heidelberg, 4-1, for the period. In a repeat of the first quarter, the Student Princes stuck first, but the Thunder then answered with four straight goals. Four different players scored a goal for Trine, including Putman and Peal who both recorded their second goals of the game. The other two goals in the period were scored by senior Jordan Lelito (West Chicago, Ill./West Chicago) and Klima as the Thunder led, 7-3, at halftime.
The second half saw both defenses up their game in the third quarter as each was held to just a goal. Klima tallied the Thunder's goal, his second of the game, at the 7:57 mark to maintain the earlier four-goal lead heading into the final period, 8-4.
After a solid period by Trine defensively in the third, the Thunder offense took over in the fourth with six goals that included a pair of scores by Maher and another by Peal. Three additional players got on the scoresheet with their first goals of the game to end the scoring. Junior Neil Orr (Lombard, Ill./Montini Catholic) and freshmen Tyler Corless (St. Clair Shores, Mich./De La Salle) and Jared Turner (Yorktown, Ind./Bishop Dwenger) each scored a goal as Trine went to the 14-5 final.
In net for Trine, sophomore Joseph Steigmeyer (Fort Wayne, Ind./Bishop Dwenger) started the game and played 57:29 to get the win after allowing five goals and had seven saves. Freshman Anthony Marasco (Naperville, Ill./Nequa Valley) played the final 2:31 and allowed no goals.
Trine is scheduled to host Concordia University-Chicago in the home opener on Wednesday, Mar. 21 at Fred Zollner Athletic Stadium. The game is scheduled to begin at 4 p.m.