ADRIAN, Mich. - When Calvin University took a one-goal lead late in the fourth quarter, the message from Adrian men's lacrosse head coach
Brett Wetzel was simple, "keep grinding and keep working hard," and that is exactly what the Bulldogs did.
After the Knights had charged back from a four-goal deficit to go ahead 8-7 with 4:48 to play in regulation, the black and gold kept their heads up and rallied off three-straight goals in a matter of three minutes to seal their seventh consecutive victory and maintain their perfect start to conference-play.
"I could not be prouder of these guys and the work that they did today," expressed Wetzel postgame. "To see us go down late, and how we faced that adversity, I could not be more pleased."
The win on Saturday afternoon improves Adrian to 11-2 overall, its best 13-game start to a season since 2012. It also matches the program's win total from the last three seasons combined.
Senior
Peyton Gasche made a little history, himself at Docking Stadium, becoming just the second player in program-history to record 200-career points, garnering the milestone during the Bulldogs' surge in the final minutes.
All told, Gasche finished the day with a game-high six points on three goals and three assists, while
Travis Fox contributed three assists as well to make up the majority of his four total points.
The visitors opened the scoring early in the first quarter, taking a quick 2-0 lead after five and-a-half minutes. A swift response by
Jake Coakley would ultimately spark a six-goal run by the home team, including a 4-0 shutout of the Knights in the second frame, in which the 'Dogs outshot their opposition 15-4.
Adrian's run carried over into the initial stages of the second half on a second tally by Coakley, but Calvin put a hasty end to the stretch with a mark of their own, trimming the Bulldogs' lead to 6-3.
Following an ensuing goal from
Riley Edwards, the Knights began their comeback. With five-straight over a ten-plus minute span, the visitors had their first lead since the opening moments of the afternoon, prompting a breather from the Adrian sideline.
After the timeout, the 'Dogs went to work, and with just under three minutes left in the quarter, Gasche took a pass from
Travis Fox and fired it into the far side of the net to draw Adrian level at 8-8.
Then, 33 seconds later, the senior found a driving Edwards who proceeded to beat the Knights' netminder with a quick ripper to push the locals back in front.
The dagger of the contest came off the stick of
Brett Koczenasz, who almost like a hockey player redirected an incoming shot by Fox past the goalkeeper to send the hometown crowd into a frenzy.
"That's something that we haven't really faced this season," noted Wetzel on his team's late deficit. "To have this opportunity and to execute a comeback like that is going to be huge for us moving forward."
The men's lacrosse team will take its win-streak on the road next Wednesday to Hope College for a match-up scheduled to begin at 7 p.m. in Holland.
"(Today) shows where we're going," said Wetzel. "We've got a group of freshmen who are working really hard and to see the way they have been able to mesh with the upperclassmen has just been impressive. How tight knit this group is will help us in moments like we faced today."
Â
Â
