ADA, Ohio – The Trine University men's lacrosse team retained their perfect record, winning a nailbiter against Ohio Northern University by the score of 7-6.
The home side struck first, finding the back of the net in the fourth minute of play. It took five minutes, but the Thunder responded with a goal of their own from Landen Kruse with 7:51 remaining in the first period. The defenses locked in keeping the 1-1 score intact through the end of the first.
Trine's defense continued to hold strong in the second quarter, holding the Polar Bears to their one goal from the first. Connor Ballantyne gave the team the lead at the 13:37 mark of the stanza and Mitchell Voglewede added to that lead with just over eight minutes remaining before halftime.
Ohio Northern took back the momentum in the third, scoring the next two goals to tie the game with 5:34 remaining in the quarter. Kramer Zastrow responded for Trine three minutes later, giving them a 4-3 lead for the beginning of the final period.
Rocco Curatola, who assisted on the team's first goal, took over on offense in the final quarter. Trine scored first with Ballantyne finding the back of the net, after being set up by Curatola. After a response by the home side, Kruse did the same, once again with a setup by Curatola.
Another Polar Bear goal came with 6:13 remaining in the game, making the score 6-5. Curatola scored the team's seventh goal for himself, with an assist by Danny Kelly, giving the team another two-goal lead.
The goal turned out to be crucial after Ohio Northern scored with 26 seconds remaining in the game, pulling back within one at 7-6. Nick Fariello won the ensuing faceoff on a violation, finishing the game 5-for-12 at the dot. The team ran out the clock to secure the win.
Curatola's four points on a goal and three assists led the team offensively. Kruse and Ballantyne both had two goals to lead the team in that category.
Defensively the effort was anchored in goal by Luke Arnold who finished the game with 13 saves and .684 save percentage. In front of him Kelly and Eiji Minobe were just as critical. They both recorded two caused turnovers and four groundballs, leading both categories for the team. Curatola and Mason Levin both finished with three groundballs with Levin also adding a caused turnover of his own.
The Thunder finish the day 4-0 overall. They will travel to face Oberlin College for their next contest, with that game scheduled to start at 4 p.m. on Saturday, February 28.
