Bryden vs. RU
Ryan Mitchell, MU Sports Information
11
Aquinas (MI) AQUINAS 5-1, 1-1
14
Winner Madonna MADONNA 7-1, 3-0
Aquinas (MI) AQUINAS
5-1, 1-1
11
Final
14
Madonna MADONNA
7-1, 3-0
Winner
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 3 4 F
Aquinas (MI) AQUINAS 4 2 1 4 11
Madonna MADONNA 8 2 1 3 14

Game Recap: Men's Lacrosse |

Fast start fuels Madonna past Aquinas

LIVONIA, MI  — An explosive first quarter and a late insurance goal from Jackson Gradstein lifted Madonna University to a 14-11 win over Aquinas (Mich.) on Wednesday afternoon.
The Crusaders surged ahead with eight goals in the opening quarter and never trailed again, then turned back multiple Aquinas rallies before Gradstein's strike with 1:26 remaining sealed the three-goal victory. Madonna led 8-4 after the first quarter and carried an 11-7 advantage into the fourth, providing enough cushion to withstand a late Saints push.
Madonna's offense was paced by a balanced effort, led by Reid Dunavant's three goals and two assists. Dunavant's first tally, assisted by Benjamin Reidy at 12:29 of the first quarter, broke a 1-1 tie and ignited the Crusaders' decisive opening run. He added another late in the period, again from Reidy with nine seconds left, to close the first quarter with Madonna in front 8-4. Dunavant struck again at 9:46 of the second quarter, once more on a feed from Reidy, to extend the margin to 9-4.
Reidy served as the Crusaders' primary distributor, finishing with one goal and a team-high four assists. He factored into the scoring throughout the game, setting up three of Dunavant's goals and assisting on Cooper Regimbal's tally that opened the fourth quarter and pushed the lead to 12-7. Reidy then capped Madonna's third-quarter scoring with a goal at the 1:04 mark, assisted by Dunavant, to restore a four-goal edge at 11-7.
In addition to Dunavant and Reidy, Madonna received key production from several sources. Regimbal scored twice and added an assist, including the early fourth-quarter goal that helped stall Aquinas' momentum. Rico Hart netted two goals, including a late-second-quarter strike at 3:00 (assist from Regimbal) that sent Madonna into halftime up 10-6. The Crusaders finished with 14 goals on 54 shots, recording 11 assists on their 14 tallies and winning the faceoff battle 17-11 to control possession for long stretches.
Defensively, Madonna leaned on goalkeeper Jonathan Bendfeldt, who stopped 10 shots to help preserve the lead. The Crusaders also dominated the ground-ball category, 47-14, and matched Aquinas with 17 successful clears while limiting the Saints to one power-play goal on six opportunities. Despite 28 turnovers, Madonna's early scoring burst and efficiency in key moments kept Aquinas from fully erasing the deficit.
Aquinas was led by standout attacker TJ Murphy, who posted a game-high four goals and added one assist on seven shots. Murphy answered Madonna's opening goal just 53 seconds into the contest, scored early in the third quarter to trim the margin to 10-7, and struck again in the fourth to keep the Saints within striking distance at 12-8. Aquinas also received multi-goal efforts from Oliver Modderman and Collin Wildman, while goalkeeper Austin Hynote recorded nine saves as the Saints converted 11 goals on 33 shots.
The Crusaders led 8-4 after the first quarter, 10-6 at halftime and 11-7 after three before the teams combined for 11 goals in a high-scoring fourth quarter. With the win, Madonna capitalized on its fast start and faceoff edge to secure a home victory against a highly ranked opponent, while Aquinas' late surge came up short despite Murphy's strong individual performance.
 
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