ANGOLA, IND. -- Needing three goals in less than a minute to tie the game before the end of regulation, the Trine University men's lacrosse team tallied two of the three scores it needed, but ran out of time as Alma (Mich.) College came away with an 11-10 win in a non-conference game at Fred Zollner Athletic Stadium in Angola, Ind.
Alma (2-7) scored the game's first goal of the game at the 10:17 mark of the opening quarter. But Trine (2-2) then struck for four unanswered goals, that included back-to-back goals by senior Jarod Schepp (Oconomowoc, Wis./Kettle Moraine). The other two scores came off the sticks of seniors Brandon Matuszczak (Hoffman Estates, Ill./William Fremd) and Matt Zanichelli (Rolling Meadows, Ill./William Fremd) that led to a 4-1 advantage for the Thunder after the first period.
Momentum began to shift in the Scots' favor in the second quarter as Trine was held scoreless in the period and Alma netted four straight markers to move ahead on the scoreboard by a goal, 5-4, after 30 minutes of action.
The second half began with consecutive goals by Alma that increased the Scot advantage to three scores, 7-4, with 9:23 to go in the third quarter. Trine answered with two goals of its own starting with Schepp scoring his third goal of the game, and second on a man-up opportunity, with a little over six minutes remaining. The final goal of the quarter was scored by junior Austin Lindell (Geneva, Ill./Geneva) at the 3:30 mark to pull Trine back to within a goal, 7-6, heading into the fourth frame.
Alma started off the final quarter with two quick goals to go back up by three scores, 9-6, just before the 10-minute mark. Trine stayed right with the Scots by answering the two scores with goals from Lindell and Zanichelli to make it a 9-8 game with 3:28 to play in regulation. The game advanced past the two-minute mark when Alma tacked on two more goals and looked to put the game away with a three-goal margin, 11-8, with just 57 seconds remaining. Trine began its rally with a goal that came with 30 seconds left when freshman Klein Burkholder (Chambersburg, Pa./Chambersburg) found the back of the net to make it an 11-9 game. Senior Tyler Corless (St Clair Shores, Mich./De La Salle) then scored another goal for the Thunder 14 seconds later that narrowed the gap to 11-10. Trine won the ensuing faceoff and drove straight to the net looking for the potential tying goal, but the Alma defense stood firm and prevented any more Trine goals in the final seconds to hang on for the one-goal victory.
Schepp led Trine in scoring finishing with three goals on seven shots for a three-point night. Zanichelli and Lindell both finished second in goals scored with two and sophomore Andrew Douglas (Liberty Twp., Ohio/Lakota East) had a team-high two assists for a pair of points. Corless scored a goal and assisted on another to round out the multi-point efforts.
Matuszczak and Burkholder both scored points with their goals, while junior Bryce Salmon (Rochester Hills, Mich./Rochester Adams), freshman Collin Custer (Spanaway, Wash./Bethel) and sophomore Josh Ward (Oakland, Ill./St. Rita) all recorded assists for one point.
Defensively, Salmon forced a team-best two turnovers and sophomore John Konicek (Geneva, Ill./Geneva) had a game-high 11 ground balls in addition to going 15-of-23 (65.2 percent) on faceoffs.
Four players saw playing time at goalkeeper with senior Anthony Marasco (Naperville, Ill./Nequa Valley) getting the start. He ended up with the loss after giving up five goals in 30 minutes and made four saves.
Trine will travel to Holland, Mich. for a Michigan Intercollegiate Athletic Association game against Hope College on Wednesday, Mar. 31. The two teams are set to square-off at 5 p.m.
