GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. – The Trine University men's lacrosse team scored five goals to start the game and then held off a second half push by Calvin University to remain unbeaten in Michigan Intercollegiate Athletic Association (MIAA) play with an 11-0 victory.
Five different members of the Thunder would tally goals in the first seven minutes of the contest to build a 5-0 lead. Scoring during the stretch were sophomores Klein Burkholder (Chambersburg, Pa. / Chambersburg) and Collin Custer (Spanaway, Wash. / Bethel), senior Austin Lindell (Geneva, Ill. / Geneva), junior Noah Markus (Woodbury, Minn. / East Ridge) and freshman Charlie Anderson (Howell, Mich. / Hartland).
The final two goals of the quarter would belong to the Knights who cut the deficit to three with a 5-2 score going into the first break of the game.
Trine came out firing again in the second quarter. This time junior Andrew Douglas (Liberty Twp., Ohio / Lakota East) would supply the fire power, scoring a pair of goals just over 30 seconds apart in the fourth minute of the quarter.
Over the final ten minutes of the half Calvin would outscore Trine 2-1 making the score 8-4 at the half. Custer would score the goal for the Thunder the team's eighth of the half.
The Thunder would strike first in the third quarter, this time aided by a penalty against the home team. Lindell scored his second of the day during the man-up opportunity to make the score 9-4. The final three goals of the period would go to the Knights cut the lead to its smallest since the opening of the game at 9-7.
Lindell would complete a hat trick in the second minute of the fourth quarter and senior Matt Zanichelli (Rolling Meadows, Ill. / William Fremd) would score his five minutes later to push back a four-goal lead at 11-7.
Calvin would put up one more comeback attempt scoring a pair of goals in the tenth minute of the period cutting the deficit back to two at 11-9.
The defense would close ranks over the final five minutes of the of the contest led by sophomore Nick DiPaolo (Flemington, N.J. / Immaculate) who once again turned in a strong performance in goal for the team. He finished the game with 13 saves and a team high seven groundballs. Outside of net the team had a balanced defensive effort with seven different players recording a caused turnover. Junior Eli Pfotenhauer (Greenwood, Ind. / Center Grove) led the team with three.
The team improves to 8-1 overall and 2-0 in MIAA play following the victory. They are set to host Hope College in their next contest, scheduled for Saturday, April 16 at 1 p.m.
