ANGOLA, IND. -- The Trine University men's lacrosse team increased its current winning streak to four games with a 13-4 defeat of Calvin (Mich.) College in a Michigan Intercollegiate Athletic Association game at the Fred Zollner Athletic Stadium in Angola, Ind.
The Thunder outshot the Knights, 44-24, in the game including, 12-3, in the first period that Trine (9-5, 4-2 MIAA) turned into five goals beginning with a pair of scores within the first minute of the contest. Junior Daniel William Shine (Chicago, Ill./Lane Tech College Prep) struck first with a goal just 22 seconds in to give the home team the early lead. Thirty-one seconds later, senior Nick Maher (DeWitt, Mich./DeWitt) scored his first of three goals on the night to extend the margin to 2-0. Sophomore Tyler Klima (Schaumburg, Ill./Schaumburg) and juniors Conner Putman (Ridgefield, Conn./Ridgefield) and Neil Orr (Lombard, Ill./Montini Catholic) scored the remaining goals at 12:30, 10:09 and 6:39 minute marks as the Thunder led, 5-0, after the first period.
In the second quarter, Trine added two more quick goals with Maher scoring his second goal with 13:39 to go and sophomore Justin Gearig (Vicksburg, Mich./Vicksburg) finding the back of the net at the 12:51 mark to make the score, 7-0. Calvin (3-13, 0-6 MIAA) got on the scoreboard with just under eight-and-a-half minutes remaining in the half to make it a 7-1 game. The combined three goals were all the scoring by the two teams in the frame that ended with a Trine leading, 7-1, at the intermission.
Calvin looked to gain some momentum as the third quarter began as the Knights tallied back-to-back goals to narrow the Trine lead to, 7-3. But Trine came right back with three unanswered scores that started with another goal by Klima at the 11:57 mark and was followed by a third goal off the stick of Maher at the 10:38 mark. Junior Eric Peal (Imperial, Mo./Seckman) rounded out the scoring with a marker with 3:02 remaining en route to the Thunder boasting a 10-3 advantage heading into the final quarter.
Trine kept the scoring going in the fourth with its final three goals of the game with Orr scoring about a minute-and-a-half in and then a pair of goals by Gearig at the 8:04 and 5:58 marks. Calvin would manage to get a final shot in the net just before the end of the game, but it would be all for not as the Thunder claimed the 13-4 victory.
Gearig led all players in points with six with his three goals and assisted on three others. Maher also scored three goals and aided in two others to end the night with five points. Putman tallied three points with a goal and two assists, while Shine, Klima, Orr and Peal all posted a two-point game. Klima and Orr both score a pair of goals for their two points and Peal recorded a goal and an assist for his two points. Senior Jordan Lelito (West Chicago, Ill./West Chicago) rounded out the point scorers with an assist for one point.
In goal, sophomore Joseph Steigmeyer got the start and played just over 54 minutes and had six saves. Freshman Anthony Marasco (Naperville, Ill./Nequa Valley) played the final six minutes and had two saves. Senior Steven Coyle (Las Vegas, Nev./Bishop Gorman) led the team in ground balls with four.
Trine will conclude the regular season with a home game against Alma (Mich.) College on Saturday, Apr. 28. It will be senior day with the opening faceoff scheduled for 4 p.m at Zollner Stadium.
