COLUMBIA, MO – The University of Missouri’s Men’s Lacrosse team hit the road yet again this past weekend visiting conference foes Illinois State and Indiana. Both games would be 20 degree wind chill or less through making for some cold ones. 5 games in a row on the road would be tough for any team and the weather didn’t help, but the Tigers still came out strong and battled to the end taking a 1-1 split on the weekend.
Illinois state was the first game of the trip on Saturday. The two would meet in Bloomington, IL as the game was hosted by Illinois Wesleyan University due to the conditions affecting ISU’s regular home field. Mizzou came in firing though and didn’t let up throughout the contest. So. Attackman Jack Eagan and Sr. Midfielder Kyle Holmes both put up hat tricks on the day while Sr. Attackman Noah Iversen dropped a double hat trick putting 6 in the net for the Tigers. Another outstanding performermance from Jr. goalkeeper Connor Graves and So. FOS Mike McDonough sealed the deal for the Tigers as they win this one 17-6.
Box Score
| Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | FINAL |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Missouri | 5 | 6 | 3 | 3 | 17 |
| Illinois State | 1 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 6 |
GOALS: Sr. Noah Iversen(6), So. Jack Eagan(3), Sr. Kyle Holmes(3) , Fr. Alex Sahli(2), Jr. Nick Pisani(1), Sr. Mitch Lowenberg(1), Fr. Hunter Varley(1)
ASSISTS: , Sr. Noah Iversen(5), So. Jack Eagan(2), Sr. Kyle Holmes(2) Sr. Cory Chlebecki(1)
FACEOFFS: So. Mike McDonough – 17/24 – 71%
GOALIES: Jr. Connor Graves – 12 Saves, 4 GA – 75%, Fr. Ian Jones – 2 Saves, 0 GA – 100%, Fr. Rocco Monachino – 0 Saves, 2 GA – 0%
Mizzou would face Indiana on Sunday before returning back to Columbia. Mizzou upset the Hoosiers last year for their first win against the program in over a decade. While both teams came into this highly anticipated game fired up, the weather definitely cooled things down as a sloppy game from start to finish from both sides pursued and ground balls would determine the victor. The field was covered in snow to begin with and the snow never stopped falling from start to finish. Mizzou came out up 2-1 at the end of 1, but a huge run by Indiana in the 2nd put them in the lead 6-4 at the Half. The Tigers got out hustled in the second half being held scoreless for the first time in a quarter all season in the third and dropping a lone goal in the 4th courtesy of Fr. Attackman Hunter Varley. Indiana would take this meeting 11-5 but both teams are likely to see each other again in the conference tournament semi-final or final. It will be interesting to see if the Tigers can put 4 quarters together against a tough Indiana team under clear conditions.
Box Score
| Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | FINAL |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Missouri | 2 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 5 |
| Indiana | 1 | 5 | 3 | 2 | 11 |
GOALS: Sr. Noah Iversen(2), So. Jack Eagan(1), So. Mike McDonough(1), Fr. Hunter Varley(1)
ASSISTS: Fr. Alex Sahli(1), So. Nick Pisani(2)
FACEOFFS: So. Mike McDonough – 5/20 – 25%
GOALIES: Jr. Connor Graves – 17 Saves, 11 GA – 60.7%
While the tigers would of surely liked to have still been undefeated up to this point, 5 of the 6 games have been on the road so far and with how Mizzou has performed historically on the road(going 12-31 over the last 5 seasons), things could of been much worse. The train is headed in the right direction for the Tigers but in order to stay on track they will need to continue to grow to have a chance at winning the UMLC and making it to Nationals in Salt Lake. The Tigers finally return home this weekend with 2 more conference foes. First a divisional match up with Iowa State Friday night and the other conference opponent Illinois on Sunday Morning. Go Tigers!
