Box Score BRIGHTON, Mich. - The Madonna University men's lacrosse team, who received votes in the NAIA Preseason Coaches' Top 10 Poll, scored at will and rewrote the record book with a 29-2 season opening win over Cleary University at the Legacy Center on Monday afternoon.
HOW IT HAPPENED
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Ian Rush (FR/Livonia, Mich.) got his Crusaders career off to a great start as he netted a hat trick in the first 6:30 of the contest with the second two tallies on an assist from Tyler Kilar (FR/Novi, Mich.), who opened his career with a school record for points scored in a game. Tucker Brady (FR/Cumming, Ga.) found Cole Gingell (FR/Northville, Mich.) for a four-goal advantage and Kilar netted his first collegiate goal 23 seconds later. Gingell then beat the buzzer, scoring from 15 yards out with two seconds remaining in the quarter for a 6-0 lead.
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The floodgates burst open to the tune of 12 goals for MU in the second quarter and it was Kilar who played a hand in seven of them. The 6-foot freshman scored three times and assisted on four others. Frank Dedvukaj (FR/Farmington Hills, Mich.), Ryan Flaherty (FR/Southfield, Mich.), Tucker Brady, Harry Dyson(SO/Northville, Mich.) and Sean Millane (FR/South Lyon, Mich.) each recorded their first collegiate goals while Chris Kovath (FR/Brighton, Mich.) tallied an assist. MU went into the half up 18-0.
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A jump shot from 5-yards out got Cleary on the board with the first goal of the second half, but it was all MU from there as the Crusaders scored seven more goals which included collegiate firsts for Kovath, Brendan Daschke (FR/Novi, Mich.), Jordan Davis (FR/Johnson City, N.Y.) and Bruce Gordon (FR/Ypsilanti, Mich.).
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A hat trick from the Crusaders' returning goal score leader, Connor Humitz(SR/Livonia, Mich.), pushed the lead to 27 and Lucas Kalscheur (FR/Aurora, Colo.) rounded out the scoring for the Blue and Gold with the 29th goal of the night. A Cleary tally with 6:24 to play accounted for the final margin.
INSIDE THE BOX
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Madonna outshot Cleary 78-10, won 29-of-34 faceoffs, had 57 ground balls and finished 13-for-14 in clear opportunities.
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Kilar finished with 10 points on four goals and six assists while Brady and Gingell each added four goals and combined for three assists.
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Rush, Dyson and Humitz all tallied hat tricks and 14 different Crusaders scored in all.
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Zachary Beam (FR/Montgomery, N.Y.), MU's faceoff specialist, collected 22 ground balls, the lone Crusader in double figures.
SINGLE-GAME PROGRAM RECORDS
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Individual Records
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Team Records
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Points - 45
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Goals - 29
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Assists - 16
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Shots - 78
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Ground Balls - 57
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Faceoffs Won - 29
UP NEXT
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The Crusaders hit the road for the first time in 2018 as they travel to Athens, Tennessee to face Tennessee Wesleyan, who received votes in the preseason poll, on Sunday, March 4 at 1 p.m.
