By Sports Information Student Assistant Zach Bigger

ANGOLA, Ind. - After struggling offensively with only a 3-0 halftime lead, the Trine University men's lacrosse team (6-4, 2-0 MIAA) bounced back with a 9-1 second half to win a 12-1 decision versus Alma College (3-6, 0-2 MIAA). Trine was outstanding in every statistical category, particularly in clears (21-for-21), shots (55 to 10), and ground balls (62 to 20). While the Scots hung around for the first 30 minutes, the Thunder never hit the panic button, and the conference win got them one step closer towards their ultimate goal: the MIAA championship.

Opening the game, the Thunder controlled the ball off the opening faceoff and kept the ball on their end for more than 13 minutes in the period. Alma failed on three clearing attempts in the first seven minutes thanks to an excellent riding effort. Trine picked up its first and only goal in the quarter with a high shot to the right side from sophomore Adam Martin (Farmington Hills, Mich./Detroit Catholic Central).

In the second, the faceoff to start the quarter was won and subsequently turned over as the Thunder faceoff unit was trying to escape the fracas. Trine played defense for several minutes before junior defenseman David Louis (Burnsville, Minn./Apple Valley) forced a turnover on Alma attackman Kyle Schintzer and blew right past several Scots chasing him on the way to a perfect clearing day for Trine.

After a few shots and a save on offense, the Thunder capitalized on one the 10 turnovers they forced in the second quarter. Freshman defenseman Colin O'Keefe's (Gurnee, Ill./Warren Township)  ground ball pickup helped setup a quick connection from a pair of freshmen in Paul Carlquist (Downers Grove, Ill./Downers Grove South) to Patrick Walker (Round Lake Park, Ill./Grayslake North). Carlquist would perform a solo act later in the period, shaking off a Scot defenseman and putting a lefty shot between the pipes late in the second. Trine had the ball for the final 3:30 of the quarter but walked away with an unsatisfying 3-0 lead.

With the thought of a potential upset in the air, the Thunder began to turn doubters into believers with a 4-1 scoring run in the third. Trine got the first goal of the quarter from freshman Jack Brown (Middletown, Ohio/Archbishop Alter), who took advantage of the Alma defense and finished off a shot from point blank range. Faceoff specialist, junior Rob Brzezinski (Livonia, Mich./Detroit Catholic Central) continued his outstanding day (15 for 17) with a top-shelf right handed goal. Carlquist and Brown would pick up the last two goals of the period, and Trine led 7-1 heading into the final 15 minutes.

Alma attempted just one shot inside Trine's offensive zone the entire fourth quarter as the Thunder finally forced the Scots into frustration.  Trine would score five goals in the final stanza, including two on man-up opportunities, both by senior Dalton Madsen (Westminster, Colo./Northglenn). Walker picked up three points (1 goal, 2 assists) in the fourth, and junior Zach Mathews (Florissant, Mo./Hazelwood) rounded off the 12-1 showing for the Thunder with a goal with less than a minute remaining.

The Thunder held Alma to just 15 of 32 in clearing opportunities and forced 34 turnovers, causing 14.

Trine faces its last non-conference game of the season when it hits the road on April 9 to face off against the College of Wooster under the lights beginning at 7:00 p.m. Riding a five game hot streak, Wooster presents a big test of how far the Thunder has come since some early season struggles.