ADRIAN, Mich. – The defense for the Adrian College men's lacrosse team showed why they have won both of the Midwest Lacrosse Conference (MLC) regular seasons as they rolled over Trine University 19-4. The Bulldogs record is now 12-2 on the season and 7-0 in the conference.

Adrian and Trine were fairly even on the night in almost every statistical category, but it was the Bulldogs defense that held the Thunder to a season-low four goals.

Adrian opened the game by scoring four of the first five goals in the first period including two by junior T.J. Cook (Caledon, Ont./Upper Canada College) as the Bulldogs led 4-1 at the end of the first.

Trine scored first in the second period before senior Josh Maluta (Naperville, Ill./Neuqua Valley) answered back. The Thunder again pulled within two at 5-3 on a man-up goal at 9:08 of the second. The Bulldogs took control of the game from there as they ended the period with three unanswered goals including consecutive goals by junior David Monroe (Ann Arbor, Mich./Huron) just 25 seconds apart. Junior Tyler Tanguay (Port Colborne, Ont./Lakeshore Catholic) ended the half scoring on a man-up opportunity with just 36 seconds left in the half. The Bulldogs held an 8-3 advantage at halftime.

Adrian came out firing in the second half as sophomore John Hudzinski (Blaine, Minn./Centennial) scored on the remaining man-up advantage just 23 seconds in. The Bulldogs scored seven goals in the period including two by Monroe and junior Mitch Barnard (Springwater Township, Ont./Eastview Secondary). Senior Jeff Ivey (Orangeville, Ont./Orangeville Secondary) closed out the third period as he put the Bulldogs up 15-3 with just 36 seconds left.

Brad Higgins (Commerce Twp., Mich./Detroit Catholic Central), a junior, opened the fourth period as he extended the Adrian lead at 13:28. Hudzinski and Tanguay each added a goal in the period as Trine closed out the game scoring at 5:41.

Monroe led the Bulldogs with four goals and two assists, racking up his eighth hat trick of the season. T.J. Cook also netted a hat trick on the night, his seventh of the year. Barnard, Higgins, Hudzinski and Tanguay all had two goals in the game. Barnard also had a solid defensive game as he was second on the team with eight ground balls while having a game-high three caused turnovers.

In goal for the Bulldogs, freshman Matthew Neal (Shelby Twp., Mich./De La Salle) tied a season-high with 13 saves while picking up a game-high nine ground balls.

Adrian held a slim shots advantage at 42-to-40 but a much wider 28-to-17 shot on goal advantage. Adrian also held a small advantage over the Thunder in ground balls at 43-to-38. Trine out-dueled the Bulldogs winning 14-to-12 in faceoffs. The Bulldogs went just 13-for-20 in clear attempts while Trine was 11-for-16 in clearing opportunities. Adrian was near perfect in man-up opportunities at 2-for-3 while the Thunder were 1-for-6.

With the win, the Bulldogs have now captured both of the MLC regular season titles in the conferences two-year existence. The win also means that Adrian will host the MLC conference tournament that will take place May 7-8.

Adrian will close out their regular season as they host MLC opponent Carthage College on April 29.