ALMA, MICH. -- The Trine University men's lacrosse team fell to Alma (Mich.) College, 10-8, in a Michigan Intercollegiate Athletic Association game and season finale in Alma, Mich.
Trine (7-5, 2-4 MIAA) led by a 2-1 margin after the first quarter that saw the first goal of the game come at the 10:41 mark when sophomore Brennan Battle (Lowell, Mich./Lowell) found the back of the net to give the Thunder the early lead. Just over a minute later, senior Eric Peal (Imperial, Mo./Seckman) gave Trine a two-goal advantage with 9:38 to go and a score of 2-0. Alma (8-9, 4-2 MIAA) then got on the board at the 4:24 mark to end the scoring in the period and cut the Trine lead in half, 2-1.
In the second quarter, the Trine offense was held scoreless as Alma struck for two scores, beginning with a marker with just over 11 minutes to go in the half that evened the score at 2-2. The Scots then took the lead with another goal on Alma's next offensive possession following a Trine turnover to make it a 3-2 advantage in favor of the home team at the intermission.
The second half saw both offenses pick up the scoring with a combined 13 goals scored that included a seven-goal third period. After a scoreless opening minutes, the two teams struck for five of the seven goals in the span of about four minutes. Trine got the scoring started with a goal at the 11:41 mark when senior Neil Orr (Lombard, Ill./Montini Catholic) scored an unassisted goal that tied the game at 3-3. Alma quickly responded with a score of its own to regain the lead with 10:58 left to play in the quarter. The Scots tacked on another goal about a minute later to take a two-goal margin before junior Justin Gearig (Vicksburg, Mich./Vicksburg) tallied the second goal for the Thunder and narrowed the gap to 5-4 with 8:47 to play. Alma then opened up a small lead with back-to-back scores to increase the margin to 7-4. The final goal of the period came off the stick of Orr, his second of the quarter, that cut the deficit to two goals, 7-5, heading into the fourth quarter.
Both teams scored three goals in the final 15 minutes that began with a score from senior Conner Putman (Ridgefield, Conn./Ridgefield) at the 12:36 mark that pulled the Thunder to within a goal, 7-6. A couple minutes later, Orr netted his third goal of the game with 10:05 remaining and tied the contest at 7-7. The two teams then traded goals with Trine's score coming from freshman Austin Lindell (Geneva, Ill./Geneva) keeping the teams deadlocked with a score of 8-8. The Scots took the lead for good at the 5:45 mark and then added an insurance goal with 2:34 remaining en route to holding on to the two-goal final, 10-8.
Orr led Trine in scoring with a game-tying high three goals and also assisted on another to end the afternoon with four points. Gearig was second in scoring with three total points thanks to a goal and a pair of assists. Sophomore Tyler Corless (St. Clair Shores, Mich./De La Salle) also recorded a multi-point day with two assists. Peal, Putman, Lindell and Battle rounded out the point scorers with a goal each.
Junior Joseph Steigmeyer (Fort Wayne, Ind./Bishop Dwenger) played the entire game in net for Trine and made a total of nine saves. Sophomore Dave Keptner (Midland, Mich./H.H. Dow) led all players in ground balls with seven and was followed by Steigmeyer with five.
