KALAMAZOO, MICH. -- Trailing by three goals going into the final quarter, the Trine University men's lacrosse team outscored Kalamazoo (Mich.) College, 4-0, in the fourth period to come away with a 9-8 come-from-behind victory in a non-conference game against the Hornets in Kalamazoo, Mich.
Senior Matt Zanichelli (Rolling Meadows, Ill./William Fremd) scored two of the team's four goals in the final quarter, including the game-winner, and added another one in the third to end the night with three markers for three points. Senior Jarod Schepp (Oconomowoc, Wis./Kettle Moraine) also scored a hat-trick (three goals) and added an assist for a game-tying high four points.
Senior Tyler Corless (St. Clair Shores, Mich./De La Salle) scored a pair of goals for two points and junior Austin Lindell (Geneva, Ill./Geneva) rounded out the goal scorers with one for one point.
Sophomore Zach Anderson (Crestwood, Ill./Oak Forest) led the team in assists with a game-tying high two helpers. Sophomore Andrew Douglas (Liberty Twp., Ohio/Lakota East) and freshman Brett Baker (Noblesville, Ind./Noblesville) completed the list of point scorers with an assist each.
Defensively, the duo of seniors Keith McCowan (Cary, Ill./Cary-Grove) and Dave Keptner (Midland, Mich./H.H. Dow) led the team in ground balls with five apiece.
In net, senior Anthony Marasco (Naperville, Ill./Nequa Valley) picked up the win after playing all 60 minutes and had six saves.
The game remained scoreless until the nine-minute mark of the first quarter when Kalamazoo (0-2) got on the board first on an unassisted score to make it a 1-0 game. But the lead didn't last long as Schepp put Trine (1-1) on the scoreboard just under a minute-and-a-half later to even the score at 1-1. The Schepp goal turned out to be the lone score for the Thunder in the period, however, as the Hornets tacked on three more goals before time ran out in the frame en route to having a 4-1 advantage after the first 15 minutes.
Corless recorded the first point by either team in the second quarter with a goal at the 9:34 mark to pull Trine to within two goals, 4-2. KZOO answered with a goal a few minutes later that extended the margin back to three scores (5-2), but Schepp netted his second goal of the game with 5:20 remaining in the half to narrow the gap back to a pair of goals at the intermission by a score of 5-3.
The Hornets gained a little ground in the third frame by outscoring the Thunder, 3-2, for the quarter. KZOO's Jack Loveland found the back of the net just over a minute into action to make it a three-goal contest and then the two teams were held scoreless until 7:19 left to play when Lindell scored on a Trine man-up advantage. Zanichelli added another score for the Thunder 27 seconds later to make it a one goal game, 6-5, with 6:52 left on the clock. The offensive fleury by the two squads continued as KZOO struck for another goal 20 seconds after the Zanichelli goal and added another score just before the end of the quarter to extend back out to a three-point margin, 8-5, heading into the fourth period.
The goal by KZOO to end the third turned out to be the final score for the Hornets the remainder of the game as Trine shutout its opponent in the fourth while scoring four times beginning with Zanichelli's second goal of the game at the 11:22 mark on another man-up opportunity. Nearing the later stages of the quarter, Schepp added another goal for Trine to make it an 8-7 game and then Corless scored while the Thunder were down a man to even the score at 8-8 with just under three-and-a-half minutes remaining. The game looked to be headed to a possible overtime period when Zanichelli got the go-ahead goal for the Thunder with under a minute to go. Trine then won the ensuing faceoff and was able to run out the remaining clock to seal the one-goal victory by a final of 9-8.
Trine is scheduled to travel to Alma, Mich. for a matchup against Alma (Mich.) College on Tuesday, Mar. 23. The game is slated to start at 7 p.m.
