KALAMAZOO, Mich. – The Trine University women's lacrosse team got back in the win column on Saturday afternoon with a Michigan Intercollegiate Athletic Association (MIAA) win over Kalamazoo 18-11.
The Thunder (7-3, 2-1 MIAA) used a massive 6-0 advantage in the first quarter to control the game against the Hornets (7-6, 1-2 MIAA). Liv Ghent [Byron Center, Mich. / Caledonia] netted seven goals and totaled nine points on the day. That gives her 112 points in her career, good for third in program history.
Calista Richmond [Portage, Mich. / Portage] got the scoring started with a goal less than two minutes in. Ghent followed that up by rattling off three in a row to give Trine a 4-0 lead less than five minutes in. Brooke Hoag [Portage, Mich. / Portage] was the catalyst offensively on two of the three Ghent scores. Ella Dougherty [Lowell, Mich. / Lowell] and Hoag herself made it 6-0 after the first.
Kalamazoo was able to get on the board 30 seconds into the second quarter, but Courtney Rhodes [Monee, Ill. / Providence Catholic] responded with one of her own at the 12-minute mark. Ghent countered three Hornet scores with two more goals to give her five in the first half alone and helped take a 9-4 lead into halftime.
The third was the highest scoring period of the game with a total of 11 goals. Danielle Gargiulo [Downers Grove, Ill. / Downers Grove] added her name to the scorer's list while Ghent, Hoag and Richmond added to their totals early in the period. The Thunder went a man up and scored at 6:15 when Dougherty found Alyssa Keptner [Midland, Mich. / H.H. Dow].
Ghent, Gargiulo and Dougherty each had scores in the final three minutes and change in the midst of an 8-3 quarter for the visitors. Trine took a 17-7 lead after three and were able to coast to victory from there. The Hornets showed fight by scoring four in a row towards the end of the game, but the hole was just too deep for them to climb out of.
29 points with 11 assists is a season high for the Thunder. Hoag and Gargiulo tied for the team high with four ground balls apiece and Hoag reeled in five of the squad's 14 draw controls. Jillian Rejczyk [Wauconda, Ill. / Wauconda] got the win (7-2) after 30 minutes in net. She made nine saves on 13 shots faced. Maddy Kasten [Battle Creek, Mich. / Lakeview] relieved her in the second with five saves.
The road trip continues for the Thunder on Tuesday, April 19 at Adrian College. The game will begin at 7 pm.