OLIVET, Mich. - In the first MIAA conference game ever, the Trine University men's lacrosse team never trailed as they defeated Olivet 11-6. The win puts the Thunder over .500 for the first time this season with their record now at 5-4.

It didn't take long for the Thunder to get on the scoreboard as senior Dalton Madsen (Westminster, Colo./Northglenn) notched his 21st goal of the season just 1:26 into the contest. Olivet would score just over a minute later to tie the game three minutes in.

Sophomore Adam Martin (Farmington Hills, Mich./Detroit Catholic Central) would score at the 9:02 mark to give the Thunder a lead they would never relinquish. Madsen scored his second goal of the quarter on a man-up opportunity on an assist from freshman George Youpel (Chicago Ridge, Ill./St Rita). Senior Sean Robb (St. Louis, Mo./Lindbergh) would give the Thunder a 4-1 lead as he notched his first goal of the season with just 44 seconds left off an assist from Madsen.

The second quarter saw both defenses stand tall as neither team could find the back of the net until Olivet's Matt Arb scored with 7:30 left in the half. Just 1:15 later, it would be Madsen netting his fourth straight game with a hat-trick. Olivet would answer back with another goal with 1:52 left, but once again the Thunder would score in the final seconds as freshman Paul Carlquist (Downers Grove, Ill./Downers Grove South) found the back of the net on an assist from Madsen with just five seconds remaining.

Defense again proved to be the focus in the third quarter. Trine tallied their lone goal of the period as Youpel score on a man-up opportunity with 4:43 left. Olivet answered quickly as they scored 1:08 later and then notched another with 1:28 left in the quarter to pull within two.

Olivet would close the gap to just one to open the final quarter as they scored just 56 seconds into the period. That would be as close as it would get as Trine got two quick goals from freshman Jake Ahearn (Naperville, Ill./Naperville) and Madsen just 42 seconds apart. Madsen's goal at the 9:30 mark was assisted by freshman Chris Ward (Oak Lawn, Ill./St Rita).

Trine would score their third man-up goal of the game off the stick of freshman Jack Brown (Middletown, Ohio/Archbishop Alter) with 5:37 left in the game. The Thunder would score quickly again as 1:34 later, it was Carlquist with his second of the game as the Thunder put the game away.

In all, six different Trine players scored on the afternoon led by Madsen who had a game-high four goals and two assists. Carlquist was the only other Trine player to score multiple goals as he also grabbed seven groundballs. Junior Rob Brzezinski (Livonia, Mich./Detroit Catholic Central) had an outstanding day in the faceoff circle going 14-of-17 while also nabbing a team-high eight groundballs. Ward was also solid going 4-for-4 in faceoffs with five groundballs.

Junior goalie Matt Lamb (Akron, Ohio/Revere) led the Thunder defense with a game-high two caused turnovers while making five saves on the day.

Despite the close score, the Thunder out-shot Olivet 52-26 on the afternoon as Trine held the Comets to single-digit shots in each quarter. Trine held a 59-34 groundball advantage on the day while they also won 18-of-21 faceoff chances. The Thunder were 16-of-20 on clearing opportunities for the game while holding the Comets to 16-of-23 chances. For the day, Trine was able to convert on 3-of-7 man-up chances while Olivet was held scoreless on seven opportunities.

Trine will host their first MIAA conference game on April 6 as they take on Alma at 1:00 p.m.