ANGOLA, Ind. - On paper, it looked like the final game of the season between the Trine University men's lacrosse team and Hope College would be a hard fought battle, but The Thunder used a 9-goal first quarter to rout their MIAA rivals 23-8. With the win, the Thunder secured the number three seed in the first ever MIAA Conference Tournament where they will face No. 2 seed Albion.

The Thunder jumped out early as they scored three quick goals, just 24 seconds apart beginning at 12:40 by senior Dalton Madsen (Westminster, Colo./Northglenn). Sophomore Patrick Walker (Round Lake Park, Ill./Grayslake North) would score the second and junior Mike Senkier (Oradell, N.J./River Dell) added the third, which was just his second of the year.

Trine added six more goals in the quarter including goals by Jack Brown (Middletown, Ohio/Archbishop Alter), freshman Paul Carlquist (Downers Grove, Ill./Downers Grove South) and then another by Brown that came just 17 seconds later. Less than a minute after Brown's second goal freshman Chris Ward (Oak Lawn, Ill./St Rita) added his first of the game. Walker would add his second goal at 3:27 of the period and Ward finished off the 9-0 quarter with 1:03 left.

Trine continued to roll to start the second as Ward and Walker netted consecutive goals just seven seconds apart.

Hope would end the shutout at 8:07 of the second as they added a pair of goals two minutes apart. Trine closed out the half scoring twice more including a hat-trick goal by Brown and sophomore Adam Martin (Farmington Hills, Mich./Detroit Catholic Central) adding another score with 48 seconds left in the half as Trine led it 13-2.

Freshman Jake Ahearn (Naperville, Ill./Naperville) started the second half with his seventh goal of the season at the 13:44 mark. After a Hope goal, the Thunder scored three straight the end the third quarter. Carlquist, Madsen and freshman George Youpel (Chicago Ridge, Ill./St Rita) gave the Thunder a 17-3 lead heading into the final quarter.

In the final period was all Trine to start as they scored five straight goals to open it. A goal by Martin was followed by Madsen's hat-trick goal on a man-up chance for the Thunder. Carlquist also netted a hat-trick goal at the 10:42 mark. Less than 50 seconds later it was Youpel scoring and then senior Ryan Chait (Cincinnati, Ohio/Indian Hill) just seven seconds after that with his sixth of the season. With the game out of reach, the Dutchmen would score five straight goals.

Trine freshman Nic Ruby (Indianapolis, Ind./Bishop Chatard) would close out the game with his fifth goal of the year with just 37 seconds remaining.

In all, 11 different Trine players found the back of the net on the day. Walker led the Thunder with a game-high seven points (3 goals, 4 assists) while Brown, Carlquist, Madsen and Ward all had hat tricks on the afternoon. Madsen and junior Zack Matthews (Florissant, Mo./Hazelwood) also added a pair of assists.

Freshman Colin O'Keefe (Gurnee, Ill./Warren Township) led the Thunder with a game-high 11 groundballs and five caused turnovers. Junior Rob Brzezinski (Livonia, Mich./Detroit Catholic Central) added nine groundballs while going 15-for-26 in faceoffs. Madsen also had eight groundballs on the day.

In net for the Thunder, junior Matt Lamb (Akron, Ohio/Revere) earned the win playing the first half and making three saves. Sophomore Austin Helm (Westfield, Ind./Westfield) came on to play just over 20 minutes and made six saves. Freshman Sam Margulis (St. Louis, Mo./MICDS) played the final nine minutes plus, making two saves.

The two teams came into the game ranked No. 1 and No. 2 in the nation in groundballs as the Thunder held a 57-to-40 advantage on the day. It was also a battle all day in the faceoff circle as Trine was ranked first as a team in win percentage while Hope was ninth with the Thunder holding a 19-to-16 advantage on the afternoon.

The Thunder also out-shot the Dutchmen 45-to-35 on the afternoon. Trine converted 22-of-27 clear attempts while Hope was 14-for-20. Both teams also had similar turnover numbers as Hope committed 27 while Trine made 22.

Trine will head to the MIAA Tournament where they will look for revenge when they travel Albion on May 2 at 7:00 p.m.