by Sports Information Student Assistant Zach Bigger

CINCINNATI - In a game which the Trine University men's lacrosse team (7-6, 4-4 MLC) could have locked up a bid to the Midwest Lacrosse Conference tournament, the Thunder could not piece together a run to put away the Lions (8-7, 6-2 MLC) in a game where the score was tied at six different points throughout but Trine never had the lead after the first quarter. Midfielder Eric Thompson (Cumberland, Maine/Greely) scored a career-high six goals, a spectacular effort that displayed the versatility and vision that kept Trine in the game.

The Thunder opened the game by giving up a quick goal just 1:03 into the game. Trine responded with a goal from attackman Andy Lauer (Fishers, Ind./Hamilton Southeastern) who picked up an errant Thompson pass and dumped a quick goal in front of the net before the goalie could make the save.  

After the Thunder gave up another up close and personal goal from a few yards away, Thompson answered with the first of his six goals on the day, hitting the top right corner to tie the game at 2-2 with 4:07 in the first. Trine would pick up a left corner snipe from Dalton Madsen (Westminster, Colo./Northglenn) off a Dan LaFond (Neenah, Wis./Neenah) assist in between goals from Mt. St. Joseph to finish an erratic opening quarter down 4-3.

In a second quarter that represented the up-and-down nature of the first, the Thunder after being dominated in the first quarter in faceoffs (1-for-8) and groundballs (3-7) responded with an inspired effort that started in the second and continued through the rest of the game.

The run led by long stick midfielder Mike Senkier (Oradell, N.J./River Dell) and faceoff specialist Rob Brzezinski (Livonia, Mich./Detroit Catholic Central) helped Trine to win the ground ball battle 7-4 and go 5-for-5 in faceoffs in the second quarter. Thompson scored two goals in the second quarter, one off a Patrick Walker (Round Lake Park, Ill./Grayslake) feed to match the scoring efforts of the Lions, who also got two goals in the quarter, in which Mt. St. Joesph took a 6-5 lead into intermission.

Not going to be denied, Thompson scored arguably the Thunder's best goal of the season off a faceoff win, being tripped by his defender and hitting a shot on his knees to finish an and-one opportunity while tying the game at six all in a span of 13 seconds to open the second half. Trine would swap goals with the Lions, but could not convert two critical man-up opportunities which could have given the Thunder a chance to finally take the lead.

A long defensive stand in which the Thunder were stuck with three short stick midfielders on defense marked a strong defensive possession and one that gave the Thunder hope  with a 7-7 tie heading to start the final quarter.

Mt. St. Joseph did not lay down however, scoring the first two goals of the quarter to increase the margin to two with a little more than three minutes gone. Trine would not begin their rally until 5:58 remaining in regulation in which Blaine Stahley's (Grand Rapids, Mich./East Grand Rapids) goal brought the Thunder within one.

After Mt. St. Joseph got two quick goals in a span of just under a minute, the Thunder picked up two goals from the great feeds of Lauer, Thompson's fifth goal. A goal by LaFond in which he bounced off his defender, fired a lefty shot in the middle of the field which was short but crept past the goal line and gave the Thunder life, tying the game at 11 with 39 seconds left in the quarter. Trine would lose the ensuing faceoff but managed to keep the Lions off the board to force overtime.

In the first overtime game this season for the Thunder, they could not up with a defensive stop to give the offense an opportunity to win the game. The Thunder gave up an Anderson Morgan goal seal the win for the Lions.

The Thunder were close in almost all statistical categories as they were throughout the game, going 37-36 on shots taken, 23-26 on groundballs, and 15-15 for turnovers. Trine went 0-for-2 on man-up opportunities, while Mt. St. Joseph was 1-for-2 in a game where one goal made all the difference.

Trine goalie Alex Gregg (Zionsville, Ind./Zionsville) made eight saves, snapping a five game double-digit save streak. The Thunder has a week off before heading on the road for their final test of the regular season at Fontbonne University, on April 29 at 1:00 p.m.